Pink and Blue
by general whitefur
Summary: Taking place in the time between Adventures and Assault, Krystal gets to know both the Star Fox team as well as the world that they protect. Through it all the lovely miss Katt Monroe is at her side to help her navigate even the most mundane yet alien aspects of her new home, making certain that for Krystal no one fits the definition of "best friend" better than the pink feline.
1. Chapter 1 Welcome to Corneria City

A/N: My latest story Pink and Blue. This story is going to have more a sort of episodic feel to it rather than a chapter by chapter sort of thing, but if I manage to stick to my plan each and every one of these episodes will give you a hearty dose of Katt and Krystal with plenty of humor and friendship in the mix. The rest of the cast will be making appearances, but I intend to make the vast majority of the story about Katt and Krystal, and I will probably be avoiding a lot of Fox and Krystal related stuff. So all that aside if you enjoy the story please leave a review, I love to hear what y'all are thinking about my stories!

-general whitefur

* * *

Pink and Blue

Chapter One

Welcome to Corneria City

Katt Monroe sighed as she pressed her paw to the scanner by her apartment door. After a brief flash of light from the glass screen the door lock clicked and Katt pushed her way inside. As Katt threw her purse and leather jacket onto one of the pink chairs and flopped down on the pink couch, her whole apartment being pink, she grumbled to herself briefly to vent the frustrations of the day. Katt truly enjoyed her job at The Wild Animal, some might think a woman who worked at a topless bar had simply decided she had no place else to go, but then that person more than likely had never grown up as a teenager on Corneria in the middle of the last big sexual revolution. Katt didn't mind being stared at a bit if it made her good money, and it did. The fact that she had an apartment in the middle of Corneria City all to herself and had managed to furnish it to her pinkish desires were a testament to the fact that she made enough not to have to worry about money. It was however the fact that she had the apartment all to herself that seemed to make the days spent there seem a little...boring.

When Katt had been younger, though to be fair she had only just turned twenty-six, she had always had roommates wherever she lived. At the time the seeming absence of personal space and any serious measure of privacy, as well as the fact that she had never been able to convince anyone that an apartment should be as pink as possible, had seemed unbearable. Now however Katt found herself wishing she had someone to come home to, even if it was just a ditzy college girl roommate. _Actually if it were an attractive ditzy college girl it might be even better._ She mused to herself. Either way it seemed that Katt was doomed to living alone, at least until she found a lover that she didn't always feel like kicking out as fast as possible in the morning. Falco included.

Letting out a yawn and a big stretch Katt stood up and went to check her perso-com. Taking the small rectangle from her purse she activated it and scrolled through her messages. Nothing interesting except for..."Wait a minute, why is there a voice mail from Fox?" She and Fox were good friends no doubt, but last time she had heard he had been on Dinosaur Planet on a mission. Katt doubted her perso-com had the range to connect to his on the other side of the Lylat system. For a moment Katt considered calling him back but decided against it, her shift had ended at 2:00 AM and right now all she felt like doing was taking a shower and then collapsing on her bed for a good eight hours sleep. With that in mind Katt stowed away her perso-com in her purse and then made her way to the bathroom, she would call Fox tomorrow and find out what he wanted.

* * *

"What's Corneria like Fox?" Krystal asked the chestnut furred vulpine as they sat together in one of the common rooms at the Cornerian Defense Academy. It had been two days since the tod had rescued her on Dinosaur Planet and she hadn't been able to leave the base since arriving on Corneria. Krystal had always been adventurous by nature and staying cooped up behind the walls of the facility all day and night had made her start to feel a bit antsy. At the very least however it had allowed her more time with Fox, and though he still seemed a bit shy around her he had, for the most part, managed to start making complete sentences when speaking with her. Krystal decided that that in and of itself could be counted as a victory, he just needed time to get a little more comfortable with her presence, and likely her appearance as well, she still wore her tribal Cerinian clothes.

"What do you mean? You're here." Fox replied, his expression curious.

"I've been sitting here in the Academy for two days, I haven't actually seen much of your world. Tell me about it, please?" Krystal asked Fox, she crossed her legs and gave him her best curious vixen look.

"Well uh, let me think." Fox replied, clearly trying not to address her legs. "It's big, lot's of forests, mountains, and deserts. Huge ocean. And the capital, Corneria City is the largest city in Lylat."

Krystal nodded, that much she had gleaned from the records in the ship's computer. "I read about the ocean, it covers only seventy percent of the planet."

Fox glanced at her. "Only?"

"My home world was almost all ocean, there were a some large islands, but no continents." Krystal explained. She managed to keep herself from sounding emotional at recalling her former home, she would never get it back, and she wanted to do her best not to let the pain stay forever.

"Oh. Wait, how did you know the ocean covers seventy percent of Corneria? Did Peppy tell you?" Fox asked, his face a study in confusion.

Krystal smiled. "I can read Lylatian. I've been wandering around the galaxy for some time on my own, I can read your language, and kind of speak it."

Fox chuckled. "I think you speak it better than I do."

"Maybe." Krystal answered. "But I only know proper words, I don't know any slang. And even so there are plenty of words and expressions that escape me."

"Well I'm sure you'll learn some of the slang pretty fast once we can start going out more...uh I mean..."

Wagging her tail Krystal said, "I know what you mean, and I can't wait."

The doors to the common area opened and Krystal picked up the mind of Falco Lombardi entering the room. "Sorry you two, didn't know you were in here by yourselves. I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

Krystal noticed Fox blush, she would have to ask him why he always seemed to do that when someone saw the two of them alone. Truth be told she didn't quite know what to think about how Fox felt towards her. She had agreed not to use her telepathy to read his or anyone else's mind without their express permission, but her passive telepathy couldn't tell her much more than who was in a room, and so she had been forced to rely only on the simple physical and verbal cues of the people she met. It hardly seemed enough, her own people expressed themselves differently, and besides she had always been used to reading someone else's intentions directly.

"Falco! Uh, no you didn't interrupt anything. I was just talking to Krystal."

"I can see that Foxie. Well don't mind me, I'll just be over here watching TV."

Krystal watched as the blue feathered avian walked over to a couch and turned on the TV. When she looked back at Fox she noticed him checking his perso-com, curious she asked, "Expecting a call?"

Fox looked up and nodded. "Yeah actually." The small rectangle started ringing. "And here it is. Just a minute."

Krystal waited well Fox walked a short distance away, he was out of earshot for the most part though she did pick up a few words here and there. "Thanks cat...Yeah...Perfect you two should...All right bye...yes I will."

Fox put his perso-com back in his pocket before sitting down next to her. "Were you talking to a feline?"

"Oh uh, yeah. Katt Monroe."

Krystal cocked her head. "Her name is cat?"

"Yeah, K-a-t-t though, but yeah she's a cat named Katt."

"So then who is she?" Asked Krystal. "Girlfriend?" She eyed him mischievously.

Fox blushed like mad at that. "Oh no, no, no. We're friends and she's a girl but we're not uh, not uh, well not like that."

Krystal resisted the urge to giggle. Fox's behavior hadn't struck as the kind that would mean he was seeing someone. But she had had the feeling that asking a question like that would embarrass him and, good thing or not, Fox looked very cute when he blushed. "Oh, well then what was the call about?"  
Fox smiled then. "Well I can tell you haven't much enjoyed being cooped up here at the Academy all day, and whether I like it or not this is where I'm going to be most days so I figured I'd try and find someone else for you to stay with."

Krystal cocked her head to one side, this idea interested her. "Does she live in the city?"

"Yep, she actually has a really nice apartment in one of the big buildings. She said she'd love to have you stay with her while the team is staying here on planet, so long as you don't mind sharing with her?"

"Is she nice?"

There was a sudden guffaw from where Falco sat, both Krystal and Fox looked over at him. "Ignore me, Katt is a perfectly nice woman unless you piss her off." Falco said without turning from the TV screen.

Krystal quirked an eyebrow at Fox. "Do he and this Katt have a..."

"History?" Fox supplied. Krystal nodded. "Yeah, little bit. Don't worry though, Katt's probably one of the nicest girls in the world. And she knows the city like the back of her paw, if anyone can show you all the best spots and help you to get to know the city and the people, well Katt's the best person for that."

Krystal smiled. "Well then that sounds great. When do we meet her?"

Fox shrugged. "We can go as soon as you're ready to leave. Do you need time to pack?"

Shaking her head Krystal answered, "Not really, all I have is my staff, a few books, and a spare change of clothes. All of which are still in the bag you gave me. We can go now if you want."  
Fox smiled then and stood up. "All right then, grab your bag and I'll drive you over to her flat."

"Flat?" Krystal asked as she followed Fox out of the common area.

Fox looked at her, "Oh uh, it's just another word for apartment. Gosh you really don't know any slang do you?"

"No, none."

"Don't worry, Katt will have you speaking like a local before you know it."

Krystal smiled again. "That would be wonderful. I have a feeling my accent already makes me stick out a bit."

Stopping at her quarters Krystal grabbed her bag, checked the room once to make sure she really hadn't unpacked anything and then turned back to Fox.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready."

"Well then let's go. It's not too long a drive, even with the traffic this time of day."

Fox led Krystal out of the instructors barracks that the team had been staying in and towards the parking garage. It never ceased to amaze Krystal just how many people on Corneria owned their own vehicles, not to mention the variety that were to be seen. Hovercars as well as wheeled vehicles, and of more styles than she had seen in all her travels, even on technologically advanced worlds. Slipping into the passenger seat alongside Fox she smiled and said, "I can't wait to meet her."

Fox keyed the ignition and the humming noise of the vehicle's anti-grav field filled the air for a moment as it initialized, the sound became barely noticeable a moment later. "I'm glad, Katt said she's can't wait to meet you either. I have a feeling you two should hit it off."

As the car pulled out of the garage Krystal asked, "Does that mean we should like each other?"

Fox chuckled. "Yes. It's a good thing Katt's always been good with languages, you really do need help with the local dialect."

Krystal crossed her arms and made a mock pout. "Be nice to me, I'm from another world."

"Oh! Uh sorry, I know I shouldn't uh..."

Giggling Krystal replied, "Fox I was only teasing. It's fine."

The tod breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry, I suppose I should have guessed."

Shaking her head Krystal decided to have a mercy on her new friend and occupy herself with the city as it passed by her window. And besides she didn't want to distract Fox too much, the last thing she need was for the poor tod to crash into something while frantically trying to make amends for a non-existent offense. Fortunately the view outside proved enthralling to Krystal, she decided she really was looking forward to exploring the city for awhile, and it would be made better by having someone to help guide her, even if Fox wouldn't be the one doing it. _I'll still see him, I'll make certain of that. _Krystal thought to herself, she knew deep down that she wanted to get to know Fox even more than this new world, much more.

* * *

Katt looked around her apartment for the thirtieth time. She wanted to make sure everything looked nice for Fox's new friend. When she had listened to Fox's message she had been thrilled to learn that he had returned from Dinosaur Planet accompanied by a blue vixen, a girl that he had risked his life to save. Katt thought it sounded like something out of a storybook, but then Fox himself tended to act like a guy out of a storybook, at least when he wasn't in combat mode. Either way Katt had been even more thrilled to learn that Fox wanted to know if the blue vixen, Krystal, could stay with her for awhile while the team waited for the refits to the Great Fox and the Arwings. It seemed that the days of living alone were coming to an end just as they were beginning to become truly unbearable.

Katt had then proceeded to spend the rest of her morning cleaning up her apartment, making sure the pink carpeting was vacuumed, that any and all shedding was under control, the kitchenette clean and devoid of a stack of disgusting dirty dishes, and that the bathroom was sterile enough to eat inside of. Satisfied that her attack on all cleaning fronts approach had been a success she had returned Fox's call and told him that he could go ahead and bring his friend over whenever he felt ready.

_BZZZ!_

Smiling Katt went over to the intercom by her door, pressing the talk button she said, "Fox?"

_"Yeah, can we come up?"_

"Sure thing, I'll leave the door open."

_"Thank you."_

Katt opened her door and then waited a few minutes for Fox to walk through. She noticed the slight blush on his face and asked, "What is it? I'm wearing clothes this time you know. Unless you always blush around girls."

Fox rolled his eyes. "It isn't you, though thank you for being fully clothed in your own home for once. And before you ask yes, fan mob."

Katt snorted. "Oh to be a hero. Where's Krystal?"

"Right here."

Katt tried not to let her eyes widen at the sight of the blue vixen as she came walking through the door. She was literally wearing nothing but a brass bra and a white linen loin cloth. Combine that with the fact that she was, by any standards, absolutely gorgeous and Katt found herself seriously trying to resist the urge to thank the divine for sending her this new roommate. "Hi, I'm Katt Monroe."

"Krystal."

"So I hear Foxie rescued you on Dinosaur Planet."

Katt watched as Krystal directed a glance at Fox, Fox simply smiled a bit and blushed. _Someone has the hots for this vixen._ "Yes he did."

"Well good going Fox, you're face is all over the news for saving the galaxy again."

Fox sighed. "Don't remind me. Do you have anything to drink?"

"Yeah, there's soda in the fridge and water of course. Oh and iced tea as well. If you need something stronger though..."

Fox smiled. "Water will be fine."

As Fox walked over to the kitchen Katt said, "Come on in and sit down Krystal, we might as well get comfortable if we're going to be roomies."

Krystal smiled and headed for the couch while Katt shut the door and then joined her. "I like your place."

Katt sat on the easy chair and smiled. "Don't lie if it's too pink for you."

Krystal shrugged. "No I like it. It shows you aren't ashamed of what you like."

Katt laughed. "That's one way to look at it. Honestly though most people think this much pink is too much."

"Well plenty of people think having blue fur is strange, hasn't made me dye my fur has it?"

"I suppose not." Katt answered.

Fox rejoined them then. He sat down next to Krystal, though Katt noticed he kept a little distance between the two of them. "So how is life treating you Katt?" He asked before taking a sip of his drink.

"Can't complain. I love my job, got a good flat, new flatmate. Things can't get much better can they?" Katt said.

"You know Falco is back right?"

Katt grabbed her tail and busied herself picking an imaginary knot out of the fur, she didn't want Fox to notice the little light she was sure had come to her eyes. She hated how the mention of that avian actually made her heart flutter a little bit every time she heard it. "Oh?"

"Are you going to go see him at all?"

Katt looked back up from her tail. "Maybe. You guys are going to be here awhile anyways, so I'm sure I'll bump into him." Fox sipped from his water, Katt tried not to growl at the look of amusement on her friend's face. "Don't be smug."

"I'm not being smug." Fox replied.

Katt rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. So..."

The sound of Fox's perso-com ringing interrupted Katt's sentence. "Sorry, I better take this." Fox apologized as he got up and walked a short distance away.

"What were you going to say?" Krystal asked.

"Oh I was just going to ask how long you've been here?" Katt replied leaning forward curiously.

"Two days, though this is the first time I've been outside of the Academy walls."

Katt looked horrified and she truly was, what had Fox been thinking keeping this poor girl within the confines of the Cornerian Defense Academy for two days without letting her see the city? _And with an outfit like that I don't even want to think about the attention from the cadets...and the instructors. Ew._ "Girl! Well it's a good thing Fox got here when he did."

Fox returned then and said, "I'm going to have to bail on you two, Slippy says there's some sort of trouble with getting the refit to the Great Fox started and that they need me to come help sort it out."

Katt got up and hugged Fox before saying, "You go sort out your battlecruiser, and don't worry Krystal will be safe with me."

Fox quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sure you'll want to keep her close."

Blushing Katt shook her head. "Just get out before this cat gets your tongue."

Fox smiled and said goodbye to Krystal before leaving. Krystal then stood up and walked over to Katt. "What did he mean by you wanting to keep me close?"

"Nothing really, he's just being an ass."

Krystal looked at her curiously. "I've never heard anyone describe Fox that way before. Well then again I think Falco had a few choice words at one point on the trip here."

Snorting Katt replied, "I'm sure he did. Don't let them fool you though, they have one of the biggest non-sexual bromances I have ever encountered."

"Bromance?" Krystal asked.

"You don't know any slang do you?" Krystal shook her head. "Figures. Well, a bromance just means two guys who are really close friends, and it generally means they aren't having sex with each other either. Just really, really good friends."

Krystal nodded her comprehension. "I take it then that Falco and Fox have know each other a long time?"

"Ages, though Falco and I have known each other since we were toddlers."

"Really?"

"It's not as great as it sounds." Katt answered, though if Katt were to be honest sometimes she missed the way Falco had followed her around like a little chick when he really had just been a little chick. Liking someone when you were four or five years old was a lot less complicated then when you got into your teens and twenties. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Leading Krystal over to a sliding glass door Katt quickly moved the blinds and opened it before leading the blue vixen onto her thirtieth floor balcony. Katt loved her balcony, even if at this height there tended to be a constant breeze, most days it felt good whipping through her hair and so she really couldn't complain.

Krystal for her part appeared awestruck as she walked out onto the balcony and placed her paws on the railing to look out at the panorama of the city in front of them. Skyscrapers pierced the horizon, sunlight glittered on thousands of glass windows, and out beyond the urban landscape the blue waters of Corneria City bay, crossed by a massive steel bridge, offered views of ships coming in and out of the docks., "Oh wow."

Smiling Katt said, "Welcome to Corneria City."


	2. Chapter 2 Getting to Know Each Other

A/N: Woo hoo! Updates this weekend huh? There a couple of Latin words in this chapter, and no I did not actually Google translate them, never use Google for Latin, it's dumb as shit. The point though is that if you spot them, that shouldn't be hard Latin sticks out, I'd love to know how many of you can actually figure it out without Google translate. And seriously if you pay attention to context it should be pretty obvious what it means. But enough of my ramblings! Read on, enjoy, and let me know what you think!

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Two

Getting to Know Each Other

Krystal woke up the next morning to the feeling of sunlight falling on her muzzle. As her nose and fur began to warm up a bit her eyes fluttered open and she yawned while stretching her arms and legs. Checking the clock by her bed Krystal noted the time as nine in the morning, an acceptable time to be getting up here on Corneria, at least as far as Krystal had been able to tell.

"Krystal?"

The blue vixen's ears perked up at the sound of her roommate's voice floating in from outside of her room. "Yes Katt?"

"Breakfast!"

Krystal sniffed the air and detected the scent of what smelled like, while she actually wasn't quite sure what it smelled like. For now she would simply settle on saying that whatever it was it certainly smelled very good. Throwing the sheets off of her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed Krystal yawned and stretched once more before setting about dressing in her brass top and a spare loin cloth she had with her. _I should probably get some new clothes at some point. _Krystal thought to herself. She had a feeling that her traditional style of dress didn't really fit with what most Cornerians wore day to day, that and she didn't have all that many changes of clothes with her to begin with. At the very least she would need to do some laundry.

Making her way out of her bedroom and into the living room Krystal said, "What's for breakfast Katt?"

In response to her question the pink feline popped up from behind the kitchenette's counter with a smile and said, "Waffles. What? Krystal why are you blushing?"

Krystal could feel the tips of her ears heating up a bit as she looked at the pink feline. "Well uh...Katt why don't you have any top on?"

Looking at her curiously Katt said, "Why should I? I'm in my own apartment on the thirtieth floor of a residential high rise. It's not like I have to deal with peeping toms. I like to let myself breathe a little. Unless my pink breasts and lovely nipple rings are going to distract you?" The feline said, looking positively mischievous as she teased the poor vixen.

Krystal simply shook her head. "No it's fine."

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you wear that?"

"Wear what?"

Pointing to her chest Katt said, "That brass top, it cannot be comfortable. Though I will say it's pretty good looking. Uncomfortable but good looking."

Krystal shrugged. "It's what the females of my world wore. Though you are right, it isn't very comfortable most of the time. It's awfully constricting and sometimes it chafes my nipples a little."

"Well then," Katt said. "Take the darn thing off, it's just me, I don't mind."

Smiling a bit shyly Krystal unbuckled the top and then breathed an immediate sigh of relief. "Oh that is better. Katt?"

Krystal noticed the pink feline's eyes had gotten a bit wider. "Damn girl, where have those been?"

Feeling herself start to blush again Krystal answered, "Well I did tell you it felt constricting."

Katt smiled. "I guess so. Oh don't worry, if you won't stare at mine I promise not to stare at yours. Come on, waffles are ready."

As the initial embarrassment wore off and Krystal sat down at the counter to be served breakfast Krystal had to admit that she did feel remarkably more comfortable. And, making sure not to stare at Katt's piercings, Krystal waited as Katt set down two plates filled with a stack of geometric brown colored squares covered in a syrup that smelled positively delicious. "Are these waffles?"

Katt sat down at the counter next to her and smiled. "Sure are, one of the best and easiest to make breakfast foods out there. I take it you've never had them before?"

Krystal shook her head. "No, but Fox did make pancakes for me the days I was at the Academy."

Smiling Katt took her fork and knife and dug into her plate. "McCloud made you pancakes?" Krystal nodded. "Well then trust me when I say you will never be able to enjoy a pancake again."

"Why?" Krystal asked as she did her best to imitate how Katt was slicing up her waffles and then spearing them with her fork. It seemed similar to how she had eaten the pancakes Fox had made. Krystal was beginning to think the Lylatians had been much better at inventing practical eating utensils than her people had been. The Cerinian equivalent of the fork, knife, and spoon could be a bit tricky to master, the Cornerian version however seemed positively idiot proof, for which Krystal found herself increasingly thankful.

"Because Fox McCloud makes the best darn pancakes I, or anyone else, has ever or will ever eat. Fox is a good cook in general most of the time, but breakfast foods and especially pancakes, well I think he could make a good living doing that instead of flying around shooting at people."

Krystal smiled. "Well if he made pancakes for a living I would have been in trouble. I don't fancy he would have been able to come to my rescue with a frying pan."

Katt laughed and asked, "How are the waffles?"

"Fantastic." Krystal replied. Katt's waffles were proving a bit crunchier than the pancakes she had eaten but, with the syrup on them, they were definitely just as tasty. There seemed to be just one thing left missing in the breakfast ensemble though. "Do you have anything to wash it down?"

"Oh right!" Katt said shaking her head and her own absentmindedness. "What do you prefer, tea or coffee?"

Krystal thought for a moment, she had tried coffee at the Academy and frankly the bitter taste hadn't sat very well with her. "Tea."

Katt got up and headed for the kitchen. "Good because that's what I was planning on this morning. Have you had coffee though?"

"At the Academy. It tasted a little too bitter for me."

"That's because you were probably having military surplus coffee from the Lylat Wars." Katt said, her tail swaying a bit as she poured tea into two pink mugs.

"One of these days I'll take you to Novabucks, best damn coffee in Lylat."

Krystal smiled. "That sounds good then. Katt?"

Returning to the counter and setting down a mug next to Krystal's plate she said, "What is it Krystal?"

Krystal took a sip of her tea before continuing, it had a bit of an orangey flavor that she liked. "I hope this doesn't sound weird but, has Fox always been very shy around women?"

Katt smiled. "Yeah, pretty much. It takes him awhile to get comfortable around just about anybody though. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, it's just he always seems to be blushing and trying to apologize around me. It's cute but..."

"I know." Katt replied. "It gets a little annoying after awhile."

Krystal finished another bite of her waffle before answering, "I just don't understand what seems to make him so uncomfortable around me. Is it something to do with me?"

Katt couldn't help but laugh. "Krystal, of course it's something to do with you."

"What though?"

Holding up her paw Katt said, "Oh let me count the ways. One, you're beautiful." Krystal blushed a bit at that. "Two, you're outfit is a bit more revealing than most guys are used to. Three, you have a certain confidence that frankly turns just about anybody on, and once again a lot of guys aren't used to. Need I go on?"

Krystal smiled. "So in other words I'm very attractive?"

"Oh yes, forgive me for saying so but you, Krystal, are hot stuff."

"Why hot stuff?" Krystal asked, genuinely curious as to whether being hot was a good thing.

"I'm going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to helping you with the local dialect aren't I?"

"Mmhmm." Krystal replied. "So is it a good thing?"

Katt just smiled. "Yes, a very, very good thing. Most girls I've met would kill to have a body like yours. Actually that reminds me I wanted to ask you something."  
"What is it?"

"I suppose it's my turn for a potentially weird question but, how old are you?" Katt asked.

Krystal thought about that for a moment, the years were a bit different on Cerinia which meant that her chronological age there wouldn't be the same as her chronological age in Lylat. Krystal did her best to try and reconcile the two dating systems, she had never been good at math and for a moment she wished that Slippy were there to help her figure it out. Despite the toad's absence however Krystal managed to surprise herself and come up with the age in only a moment's thought. "In Lylatian years I think I would be about nineteen, though I was over twenty on my world."

"Oh, wow you are young." Katt said. "Does Fox know?"

Krystal felt herself blush a bit, she hoped that her relatively young age wouldn't be a problem for the people she had just met. "Well uh, no. He hasn't asked me how old I am yet so...Katt is that going to be a problem?"

The pink feline shrugged. "Probably not. Not if he really likes you, and certainly not if you're only going to be friends. I wouldn't worry too much."  
"Is it going to be a problem for you?" Krystal asked. She wanted to make certain seeing as she would be living with the feline for the foreseeable future.

Laughing Katt said, "Oh heck no girl, you're over eighteen which means I'm fine."

Krystal cocked her head and asked, "What does being over eighteen have to do with it?"

Much to Krystal's surprise a bit of color suddenly came to her new pink friend's face when she heard the question, she could even sense a bit of embarrassment akin to what Fox usually felt when she said something he thought was awkward. "Oh nothing. It's just around here if you're over eighteen you tend not to hang around anyone who isn't, well in any way other than just friends."

"Why though?"

Katt shrugged. "Done with your waffles?" Krystal nodded and waited while Katt took them with her to be put in the sink. "I don't really know how things worked on your world, but here on Corneria people over a certain age aren't supposed to have sex with anyone under a certain age."

Krystal thought about that for a moment before saying, "Well I suppose that makes sense. On Cerinia I suppose the equivalent would be marriageable age."

"No love making before marriage then?" Katt asked as she grabbed her tea mug and headed to the couch.

Krystal took her own half full mug and followed. "Not exactly." She said as she sat down next to Katt.

"What does that mean?"

Krystal shrugged. "People certainly fornicated a bit, a lot of young men and women did, but sort of like how you explained it anyone old enough to be married wasn't allowed that sort of thing with anyone too young. Why are you so curious?"

"I don't know, call it a weakness of mine but sex has always interested me. Did people not really talk about it on, Cerinia, right?"

"Yes Cerinia. And no we didn't really." Krystal answered.

"Taboo thing? Sex must be kept private?"

A smile crept onto Krystal muzzle. "Quite the opposite actually. Did I tell you I was telepathic?"

Krystal tried not to giggle at the look of shock that took hold of the pink cat's face. Krystal felt reasonably sure she had never in her life seen someone's eyes go that wide, or a feline's fur poof out quite that much. "You mean you can read people's minds?"

"Mmhmm."

"Wow. What am I thinking?" Katt asked. Her shocked look quickly being replaced by one of profound interest as she leaned a bit closer to the vixen.

"You want me to read your mind?" Krystal asked. "It's important that I have your permission first since you aren't Cerinian."

"You got it girl. Read away."

"All right." Krystal said. She closed her eyes for a moment and extended her telepathy, feeling just far enough into the other girl's being that she could pick up on the most prevalent surface thoughts. Krystal had a feeling that delving into the subconscious would be rude even if she had been given permission. "Katt!"

"What?" Katt asked.

"Stop thinking about my breasts!" Krystal said. She had to fight keep the amusement out of her voice. She could tell it was a thought that had entered Katt's mind quite unbidden, still the blue vixen was nothing if not mischievous when she wanted to be.

Katt shook her head and leaned back/ "Sorry, I'll try and keep that under control. Can't blame a girl for being interested though."

"I suppose not." Krystal answered. "It's flattering to know you like them."

Blushing a bit Katt said, "Maybe we should change the subject, even I can be embarrassed every once in awhile."

"You don't have to be, there was never any taboo on Cerinia about, oh what's the Lylatian word for it?"

"Homosexuality?" Katt supplied.

"Yes." Krystal said. "How could there be when our entire civilization only had a few large islands to live on? The capacity for love and love making without having children was seen as a gift from the gods by my people."

Katt smiled. "Now that's a nice way to look at it, I'm a gift to the world. Though I like men too so don't get your hopes up."

"Oh I can tell." Krystal answered.

"You still haven't answered my question though, about whether Cerinians talked about sex or not."

"Not really, we're telepathic and we can always sense heightened emotions. There's no need to talk about something you can sense." Krystal answered. "I suppose we didn't discuss it simply out of courtesy, we all knew whenever it was happening. Does that make sense?"

Katt looked to be comprehending the idea. "I think so, though I can't imagine what that must be like. Seems like it would get a bit awkward at times."

"Maybe in Lylat, but when your whole species is telepathic and constantly picking up on one and others emotions and feelings and even thoughts, well feeling awkward about things just isn't practical. After all if we did we'd all be blushing stuttering messes our entire lives." Krystal explained.

"Hmm, sounds like a certain tod that we both happen to know." Katt said, a glint in her eyes.

Krystal giggled a bit but said, "Oh don't be mean, he's really a dear. New question though."

"Go ahead."

"You said you and Falco have known each other since you were toddlers, right?" Katt nodded. "How did you two meet then?"

Katt leaned back and smiled a bit. "Well here's how it went down, Falco and I were out at the park with our parents, and you may or may not be aware but cat's tend to love sand. So I was in the sandbox as was Falco, he was using a shovel that just so happened to be pink, and pink is something that draws me like gravity. Being four years old though I had a lot less restraint than I do now, so I just stole it from him. He tried to get it back and I socked him in the beak, after which he ran crying to his parents. We've been friends ever since."

Krystal stared at Katt for a moment trying to comprehend how punching someone in, for all intents and purposes, the face would lead to a lifelong friendship. "I'm not sure I understand how that works."

Laughing Katt said, "You know neither do I. It just did. I mean I had to give the shovel back as soon as his parents found my parents, and I think he felt bad that I got scolded in front of all the other kids in the park so he agreed to share the shovel with me. So it worked out in the end."

"You know he seems to think of you with a bit of..."

"Fear?"

Krystal laughed. "One way of putting it. You see when he overheard Fox saying that you were a really nice girl..."

"Aw he said that about me?" Katt said, looking very happy at the idea that Fox thought of her as a nice girl.

"Yes he did. But Falco sort of just guffawed and said that you were unless you were angry. Is it something between you two?" Krystal asked, she hoped she wasn't prying. She didn't really know what the protocol on Corneria tended to be when it came to personal questions. Her own people as she had explained to Katt had never really thought of privacy in the same way as the Lylatians, and Krystal didn't want to offend Katt by asking too much about her too soon, they had only known each other a day after all.

Sighing Katt answered, "We've had our arguments in the past, and even an attempt or two at going beyond friendship. They've never ended very well, so I suppose Falco might sound a little bitter when he mentions me sometimes."

Krystal simply nodded. She didn't want to start making assumptions but Krystal had the feeling that both Falco and Katt were very much alike in terms of personality. That being said Krystal could also sense a lingering feeling of hurt from Katt when she talked about her and Falco in a relationship. The blue vixen decided however that now might not really be the appropriate time to ask any more questions about that. Everyone had their limits, and Krystal didn't really want to push Katt much further than she already had. _All these private feelings they have, it's going to be a nightmare getting used to not being able to talk about them. Problems of a telepath right?_

"Katt, do you have any movies?" Krystal asked, suddenly curious and wanting to move the conversation past the potential awkwardness before it arrived.

"Sure, I have lots of movies. Why?"

"Well when I was in Fox's quarters on the Great Fox...Katt no." Krystal said as she noticed the look on the feline's face.

"Sorry, but I mean he did rescue you and save your life. I've always heard that the girl is suppose to, you know, show her gratitude. I certainly would have."

Krystal blushed a bit at the thought of showing that level of gratitude to Fox, she had certainly kissed him, or rather demanded he kiss her, but still making love to him seemed a bit much. Although... "Well I did kiss him, and the thought might have crossed my mind for just a moment. Like you said he did save my life. But that isn't what I wanted to ask about."

Katt laughed. "All right, I'm sorry, but you can tell what tends to be on my mind during the day."

Krystal laughed as well. "Don't worry. I was going to ask though why Fox would have a poster on his wall that said _Stellar Bellum_ and had a lot of caped heroes with laser swords or something on it."

"Krystal! You've never even heard of _Stellar Bellum_?"

"Should I have?" Krystal asked, a bit confused.

Hopping off the couch Katt pulled open a drawer beneath her flat screen TV and then held up a large case with six smaller cases inside of it. "_Stellar Bellum_ consists of two of the greatest movie trilogies in the history of Lylat. The first movie came out when I was six, and trust me anyone who was a kid when they came out obsessed over those movies. After the Lylat Wars when the new trilogy started Fox actually made it a point to come back to Corneria to see the new movies."

"I take it they're sort of a big deal then?" Krystal asked. Her curiosity had definitely been piqued.

"Um, yeah! Come on we'll watch them, have ourselves a girls day in and a _Stellar Bellum _marathon."

"Sounds good to me." Krystal answered as she settled back into the couch. Katt turned on what Krystal assumed to be some sort of disc reader connected to the TV and then sat back down holding a remote. "Are the movies any good?"

Katt gave her a look that Krystal could only describe as an _are you insane?_ look and replied, "These are literally my childhood Krystal, and the childhood of everyone I know, so if you ask me they're some of the best movies ever created. Just watch, I think you'll like them."

Krystal nodded and relaxed. She couldn't think of anything better to do, and if these movies were that important to Fox and Katt and the rest of the team Krystal had a feeling it would be a good idea to watch them. That and she had never really seen a movie before. Cerinia had had a lot of theater but Krystal really didn't know what to expect from a movie. _Well I've always been adventurous, and having an adventure sitting on the couch without a top on so that I can actually breathe properly for once, well that sounds good to me. _Krystal thought to herself. This was going to be a good day, a bit of a lazy day, but definitely a good day.


	3. Chapter 3 Shopping

A/N: Updates! First Life After Krystal, now Pink and Blue.

Enough of that though. Chapter three is here and yes! It does concern shopping. Krystal couldn't stay in the brass bikini of hers forever, if only because everyone has to have something to change into when they do laundry. This chapter also includes one of my favorite things to write about in Star Fox, the Corneria City tube. Based loosely off of my experiences with European subways, especially the London tube which is a serious adventure. Other than that we can all sit around and wonder at the fact that a guy just wrote close to four thousand words in a chapter about, primarily it seems, clothes. Being worn no less! Well to hell with gender stereotypes. Read on my friends and let me know what you think...

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Three

Shopping

"Katt?"

Katt looked up from her magazine at the sound of Krystal's voice. "Yeah?"

"I think I need some new clothes."

"Ah." Katt regarded the blue vixen. It had been three days since she had arrived at her apartment and she was still wearing her brass bra and loin cloth. Katt would have offered to take her out shopping before now if she hadn't found Krystal's native clothing so utterly mesmerizing. No wonder Fox always seemed to get tongue tied around her. After all who wouldn't get tongue tied when a girl with a body like Krystal's came up to them wearing an outfit that left almost nothing to the imagination? "Well then it's a good thing I have the night off. Come on, we're going shopping."

"Great. But uh..." Krystal trailed off.

Getting up Katt motioned for Krystal to follow her into her bedroom. "I'm sure I have something you can wear."

The blue vixen followed behind looking very eager to try on some new clothing. Katt liked that about Krystal, she seemed so very eager to learn about this new world she was on. Always asking questions, always looking at every mundane appliance in the apartment with a sort of wonder. According to the vixen her world and many of the others she had visited had had similar technologies, but there were some things that went beyond her. For instance the microwave oven; she had been horrified and then astounded at the idea that Cornerians would cook things with radiation of that sort. Katt felt certain that if Krystal had been feline her fur would have puffed out at the sight. Of course now Krystal seemed to enjoy microwaving things more than anyone Katt had ever seen, always staring intently at whatever was inside waiting for that little _ding!_

"Now," Katt said, placing her paws on her hips. "What do I have that you can wear?" Glancing back at the vixen she gave her a once over to try and guess her size. "OK I think we're about the same fit. Just a minute." With that Katt dove into her walk in closet. The amount of clothing inside would have put a royal wardrobe to shame both in terms of bulk and variety. Katt had everything from fancy party dresses to jeans to ugly oversized sweaters for the winter days. "Ah ha!"

Katt emerged from her closet holding a t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. "What do you call them?" Krystal asked.

Handing the garments over to her Katt answered, "The top is called a t-shirt and the bottoms are called jeans. Oh!"

"What?"

Katt shook her head. "I forgot you'll need some panties. Wait one!" Katt made her way back inside of the closet. She felt a smile creeping onto her face at the idea that she was lending panties to her new friend, and that they would definitely have to shop for cute underwear while they were out. _This is going to be a good day. Here we are!_

Out of the closet once again Katt handed the undergarments to Krystal. Krystal for her part looked at them a bit incredulously for a moment before saying, "They seem a little...lacey."

Katt shrugged. "Those ones yes. I'm sure I can find something less sexy if you want. I've got just about everything in there."

Krystal wagged her tail in response. "I didn't say I didn't like them. Do you mind giving me a little privacy to change?"

"Oh of course. Just come out whenever you're ready and we can get going." Katt left the room to allow Krystal to get dressed. It seemed a little funny to her that the vixen would be so shy considering the two of them had walked around topless the day after she arrived. Oh well, everyone had their limits and Katt couldn't hold that against her. Besides not everyone had the stunted sense of shame that she did. Sitting back down in her easy chair Katt picked up her magazine to wait for Krystal.

A minute or two later the door to Katt's bedroom opened and Krystal stepped out. "How do I look?"

Katt looked up and smiled. Krystal stood there wearing a t-shirt that just managed to reach her jeans, and the jeans did a very good job of showing off the shapeliness, if not the fur, of her legs. "Stunning."

Krystal giggled. "Thank you. Though I'm not too sure about these jeans."

"Why?" Katt asked.

"Little too tight."

"Oh." Katt got up and walked over to her. "You should be thankful you aren't a boy then."

Krystal stared at her blankly for a moment before a smile crept across her muzzle. "Gods. How do they wear these then?"

"The greatest mystery of the universe. Come on, let's get you some clothes of your own."

The two girls left the apartment and made their way down to the building lobby. "Do you have a car Katt?" Krystal asked.

"Sure do. Electric-hover Civique. I only use it when I go outside of the city though. Why?"

"I was just wondering how we were going to get to wherever we're going."

Katt smiled. "Only someone new to Corneria City would ask that. In fact only someone not from Lylat would ask that. We'll be taking the tube."

The two girls exited the building and Katt turned right to walk down the street. It was midmorning and most people were at work, leaving the streets and sidewalks much less congested than normal. Of course that certainly didn't mean they were empty, just that it was possible to walk quickly without having to shove people out of the way.

"What's the tube?"

Katt glanced at Krystal beside her. "One of the best and most convenient city train systems every built. You can't live in Corneria City without using it. In fact because of it most people who live here don't even need a car, unless of course they plan to go outside of the city."

"So it's public transit?"

"Pretty much. Though it's really good public transit. You'll see." Katt answered as she led Krystal down a flight of steps and into a tunnel beneath the sidewalk.

The Corneria City Underground/Aboveground mass public transit system, locally known as "the tube", had been in service for roughly three centuries by the time that Katt had first used it. It was widely considered to be a marvel of civil engineering, and served as the basis for virtually every other subway system in Lylat. Of course in Katt's experience it was rare to find one as clean, well maintained, and safe as the one in Corneria City. There was no place in Corneria City that the tube couldn't get you, and best of all it was free.

"Wow." Krystal said.

"Yeah, thought you'd say that."

"I wouldn't have thought something you say is free would look this good. I mean the tiles on the walls are sparkling. I've never been in a city on a world other than my own that kept itself this neat." The blue vixen looked genuinely shocked at the level of cleanliness.

"That's what most people say. Well it's my tax credits at work. Worth it. Here hold my paw, it can be easy to get separated down here if you've never been before." Katt held out her pink furred paw and smiled when the vixen took it. She then led the way through the crowds of people who were all flashing their IDs at the card readers. When her turn came Katt held her ID up to the scanner. The laserfield in front of Katt flashed open as she stepped through, and then closed just as Krystal followed her. The lasers went from green to red and a little alarm started blaring. A uniformed Alsatian started making his way over.

"Uh, Katt?"

Katt swore. "Figures. Hang on I'll handle this."

"Ma'am." The Alsatian said. "There a reason your friend is trying to get in without her ID?"

Putting on her friendliest smile Katt answered. "Sorry officer. My friend here isn't from Lylat, she doesn't have an ID. I can vouch for her though."

The dog looked the two of them over and Katt just thought _Oh please don't be a dickhead. _"All right, I can see she isn't from around here with that fur. Go ahead. But see about getting her some ID in the near future. City hall can offer her a visa I'm sure."

Katt smiled again and replied, "Thanks officer. I appreciate you being so understanding."

The Alsatian tipped his hat in their direction. "No problem ma'am. Have a nice day."

Jerking her head in the direction of the boarding ramp Katt squeezed Krystal's paw. "It's all right you can stop blushing."

Krystal flicked her ears nervously a few times. "Sorry, it's just a little embarrassing having an alarm go off because of me."

"I know. Don't worry about it though, at least the officer over there isn't a dickhead."

"He was very understanding. Though..."

Katt nodded. "Yeah, being a pretty young lady with an exotic pelt never hurts with a guy. He didn't mind rape you did he?"

Krystal looked at the pink feline with a horrified expression. "No. I could just tell he was attracted. Katt do people around here do that?"

As they reached the boarding ramp Katt stuck her head out to check for the train. She trusted her reflexes to save her if it was coming. "Most guys no. But there are always the hormonal freaks who can't help it. You don't find them around this part of town very often though."

"I see." Krystal said, still looking a little perplexed at the idea. "I suppose when your thoughts are always private that sort of thing is easier to get away with."

"Yeah I think so. Here comes the train." Katt looked at Krystal and made sure to keep holding her paw. "Now when we get on board just shove your way in, they don't stop for very long and nice people or not it's always a fight to get on. Oh and if someone touches you improperly don't make a big deal, these things can be crowded and a little touchy feely is hard to avoid sometimes."

Krystal's eyes widened a bit at that. "O-K. That sounds lovely. From mind rapes to train molestation. Your world is beginning to worry me Katt."

Katt snorted. "Don't worry. It isn't rush hour so it probably won't be that bad. Besides you got me, anyone does anything you don't like I'll scratch their faces off."

The train came to a stop on its mag-rails with a soft humming and the doors opened. Immediately the people on the ramp began shoving forward into the people trying to exit. Katt made sure to keep a hold of Krystal as she elbowed a passing business exec out of the way to claim a spot inside the train. Krystal for her part managed to get onboard without physically assaulting anyone, a serious accomplishment in Katt's opinion. "Where do we sit?" The vixen asked.

Katt shrugged. "Seats seem to all be taken. So we stand."

"How fast does it...Whoa!" The train chose that moment to accelerate, sweeping Krystal off of her unprepared feet.

Acting quickly Katt used her grip on the vixen's paw to keep her from falling by pulling her into a rather close embrace. "Fast."

Krystal was blushing again and Katt made sure to give a withering stare to everyone in the car that made it clear remarks and jokes about a clumsy vixen were not welcome with her. "No inertial dampeners I take it."

"Nope. It was on the ballot last year but it would have meant bringing back fees. Apparently no one wanted to part with fifteen cents for smooth acceleration. You all right?" Katt asked, looking at the vixen with concern. She could only imagine how embarrassed her friend was. In fact Katt wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to use the tube again.

"I'm fine. You can stop holding me if you want."

This time Katt blushed. "Oh, sorry."

"It's all right." Krystal answered, looking slightly amused. "I take it that's what the poles are for?"

"Yes." Katt made room for Krystal to place a paw on one of the support poles. "We're off in three stops for the commercial district."

"I can't wait. Are there lots of shops?"

"Shops, department stores, malls, boutiques, everything a girl could want in a couple of city blocks." Katt answered.

As the train approached its third stop Katt said, "This is about to be us. Hold on to my paw and get ready to shove your way back out."

Krystal grabbed onto Katt's outstretched paw and seemed to steel herself for the inevitable crush of people. The tinny voice of the automated pilot announced the stop as the commercial district and the doors opened. Katt charged forward with Krystal, elbows clearing the way. Katt had to restrain herself from cursing when a rather heavy set lioness with a brood of cubs tried to board with two fists full of shopping bags. _I really hope I don't step on one. But I will if I have to._ Katt thought to herself.

Fortunately the two girls managed to make their way through the rushing mob and out onto the boarding ramp without squashing any tiny felid offspring. Both of them then made their way out of the terminal as quickly as possible. If there was one thing that Katt hated about the commercial district terminal it would have to be the fact that no matter what there always seemed to be a huge number of people going opposite the way she wanted to go. Not to mention they always seemed to be swinging their bags in her general direction. It made Katt wonder if some of them might actually be trying to hit a pink feline that day. Once they made it out Katt breathed a sigh of relief.

Krystal looked at her curiously. "I thought you liked the tube."

"Oh I do don't get me wrong. But this stop is always a pain. Too many people with big ass shopping bags that always feel like they're filled with bricks when they hit you."

Krystal glanced back down the stairway before turning back to her friend. "Or just big assed lionesses with too many cubs."  
Katt chuckled at Krystal's snark. She must have been feeling a bit more comfortable around her after the past few days."Can't argue with that. Now come on, why don't we do some shopping? Hell maybe I'll get us a cab for the ride home instead of us being the bitches with too many bags."

"If a cab is a car that would be great."

"Sure is Krystal. Now, where would you like to go first?"

Katt watched as the enormity of the various department stores and other shopping centers dawned on her friend for the first time. The vixen's muzzle seemed to unhinge a bit at the sight of buildings almost the size of skyscrapers draped with holographic advertisements for every kind of item imaginable. Clothes, jewelry, scents, flowers, appliances, even vehicles. "Ummmm..."

"Tell you what, I know a good place for clothes. Want to just stick with me?" Katt asked.

"That sounds like a very good idea."

Smiling Katt began to lead the way down the street towards one of her favorite little stores. The commercial district, for all the hassle involved in getting there, had always been one of Katt's favorite places to go on her days off. Katt would certainly consider herself an expert shopper, in fact she couldn't remember the last time she had actually been ripped off on something. _Which probably means I'm not as good as I think. Oh well, have money, spend money, stimulate the economy, right?_ She thought to herself. Besides, she figured when Fox found out that she had taken Krystal on a shopping spree in the city he would insist on paying her back. If there was one thing Katt knew about Fox it was that he hated the idea of owing anyone anything, and seeing as he probably thought of Krystal as his responsibility Katt felt comfortable in assuming that a fat Star Fox rebate would be heading her way after all of this.

After crossing the street the two arrived at a shop with a neon sign that read _Clothing Shack_. "You are going to love this store Krystal."

Krystal glanced up at the sign. "Clothing Shack? Doesn't exactly sound high end."

"That's the point. I know the owner, she's a bit anti-establishment. Last thing she would want to sound like is some big faceless corporation. Or some snooty rich peoples department store. Believe me though when I say you can find literally anything in here." Katt explained.

"If you say so." Krystal replied.

Opening the door Katt called out, "Amber! Best customer alert!"

Katt's shout was greeted by rustling from a back storeroom, and a moment later a female red panda with more piercings than anyone else Katt knew came rushing out to meet her. "Monroe!"

"Amber." Katt said as the two girls enveloped each other in a hug. Katt planted a little kiss on the other girls cheek and said, "I'm actually here to shop today."

Amber's eyes brightened at that. "Awesome." Her eyes drifted to Krystal. "New girlfriend?"

Katt's eyes widened and she saw Krystal blush. Leave it to Amber to jump to that conclusion. "Oh no. I'm uh just looking after her for Fox."

Separating from Katt amber apologized. "Sorry. I shouldn't assume. Looking for anything in particular? I got some new pink outfits in a couple days ago."

Katt thought about that for a moment. She had left the house with the intention of getting clothes only for Krystal, she really couldn't afford to be buying clothes for the both of them. Fox would probably insist on paying her back for anything Krystal bought, which meant Katt could probably afford to indulge herself. _On second thought, no. I shouldn't be exploiting the fact that Fox obviously has the hots for Krystal so I can buy clothes for myself. And I should probably make sure not to mention this to Fox. _ "We're just here for Krystal."

"I take it that's you?" Amber asked, directing the question at the blue vixen standing next to Katt.

Smiling Krystal answered, "Yes that's me. Pleasure to meet you miss Amber."

Amber laughed. "No miss. Just Amber. And nice to meet you too. I like your pelt. Do you dye it?"

Krystal shook her head. "No, this is my natural pelt color."

Amber's face suddenly became a study in confusion. She looked over at Katt who simply smirked. "Really?"

"Mmhmm." Krystal smiled a bit. "I'm not from around here."

"Like I said I'm taking care of her for Fox. They met on Dinosaur Planet and she needed a place to stay for awhile while he and his team get things sorted." Katt cut in. Hopefully that would be enough for Amber. The red panda could be a little nosey at times.

"Oh. I didn't know there were foxes on Dinosaur Planet."

Krystal frowned. "There aren't. I'm not from Lylat."

Amber was about to press Krystal but Katt interrupted. Something about the look on Krystal's face told her that unlike a few days ago she didn't want to talk about her homeworld right now. "Look Amber, I know you're a very curious person but...sensitive issue?"

"Sorry." Amber looked apologetic. "I'll lay off. Now why don't you two have a look around. And just give a shout if you need me, I'll be in back unpacking a few new outfits."

"Thanks Amber." When the red panda was out of ear shot Katt glanced over at Krystal. "You all right?"

"I'm fine. I know I've talked about my planet with you before but...well that just sounded like I'd have to explain what happened to it, and that's not something I like to share. I don't mind telling people what it was like before but telling them what it is now...well it's a lot more painful."

Katt patted Krystal on the shoulder. "It's all right. I could tell it looked sensitive, that's why I said something. But if you ever want to talk about what happened, I assume it's bad, I've got ears and I can be as tight lipped as you want."

"Thanks Katt." Krystal said. "Eventually."

Nodding Katt led Krystal over to a rack full of dresses. "Well for now why don't we find you some proper Cornerian clothes. And no jeans right?"

Krystal smiled. "Well, maybe I'll try some, since they do seem pretty common. But dresses are always better."

"Atta girl. Try some new things. This is the place for that by the way, Amber has everything."

"I can tell." Krystal said as she held a dress up to her body. "What do you think?"

Katt looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. "Little low cut don't you think?"

Smirking Krystal replied, "Did you see what my people used to wear? Modesty in dress isn't that big an issue for me."

"Good point." Katt laughed. "Just try not to give Fox a heart attack the next time he sees you."

"He really is silly around girls isn't he?" Krystal asked putting the dress back.

"Long as I've known him. There are some stories me and the other girls could tell you." Katt said as she pulled another dress from the rack and handed it to Krystal. Katt thought the teal color might go well with Krystal's blue fur.

"Other girls?" Krystal inquired as she took the dress from Katt.

"Miyu, Fay, and especially Fara. He's friends with all of them. Trust me when I say each one of them can name at least one occasion they made him trip over his own tongue, or tail." Katt told Krystal, remembering one of Fox's more embarrassing moments in high school.

"I'd like to meet them." Krystal handed back the dress.

"No on teal?" Krystal nodded. "All right to hell with teal. And I'm sure they'd love to meet you. Want me to set up a girls date?" Katt asked.

"That would be wonderful. I'd love to start making some more friends. Oh I like this!" Krystal exclaimed, pulling a dark purple dress from the rack.

"It's settled then. We'll get you kitted out with proper clothes and then I'll invite the girls over to meet you and we can all tell you exactly how adorable Fox has been all his life."

"Brilliant." Krystal replied, a smile on her muzzle. "Now focus, we need to figure out exactly what goes with my fur and my tattoos. What do you think of purple?"

"Gotcha. Down to business." Katt answered as she looked at the dress. She had a feeling that her own experience shopping for clothes to match unusual pelt colorings was about to come in very handy.


	4. Chapter 4 Girls, Hugs, and Stories

A/N: **REVISION!** OK now that I've yelled to get your attention I'll just say that I have made some revisions and additions to this chapter. The reviews I got pointed out some rather glaring issues, but they were issues that were easy to fix and that I, admittedly, had a lot of fun fixing. For the most part people asked for my scandalous stories and the like, well, I have done my best to give them to you. On the subject of Krystal's recounting of Adventures it has been left mostly intact, a few changes are there, and this is because I wanted to have her get her telepathy out in the open and that story did a reasonably good job of it. And, before I let you all actually go and read it if anyone has complaints about Fara speaking French all I have to say is, they speak English so they can speak French. Now go ahead and read on and of course you can always review if you're feeling especially courteous today.

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Four

Girls, Hugs, and Stories

"What do you think Katt?" Krystal asked as she spun around in one of the dresses from last week's shopping trip. The dress was a little blue number that hung loose around the legs to give it a nice swirl effect. Krystal hoped the dress's relative modesty would prove a good choice for the day.

"I like it. The swirl is cute, and the no sleeves let's you show off those tats." Katt answered from where she sat lounging on Krystal's bed. Katt herself wore only a t-shirt and a very short skirt she called a 'mini-skirt'. Krystal had yet to try one on, but she liked the way Katt looked in them. "I'm sure the girls will love you in it. Though I think they'd love you in anything."

Krystal cast a smile the feline's way, Katt always proved so reassuring whenever they talked. Though Krystal knew that of late her friend had been a little disappointed that she no longer walked around in revealing tribal wear. "Maybe. But I will admit I'd rather not everyone greet me with a gaping muzzle."

"Price you pay for looking so mouth watering."

Krystal turned from the closet mirror to look at the pink feline. "What?"

"What?" Katt parroted, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Nothing. I've just never had another girl describe me like that after only two weeks living together. You really think so?"

Katt, though Krystal noted a bit of color had come to her ears, just kept right on. "Oh Krystal, you know I'd love to eat you right up."

Krystal smiled and shook her head, even though the feline meant it as a joke there had been no hiding the fact that Katt found her very attractive. "I'm sure you would." Krystal replied with amusement.

Katt simply returned the smile and let her tail swish back and forth.

Satisfied with what she was wearing Krystal shut the closet door and went to sit next to Katt on the bed. "When will the girls be getting here?"

"They said by one. Fara and Miyu should be first, Fay will be twenty minutes late on purpose like she always is and claim she has a brain like a goldfish for this sort of thing, despite her very active social life."

"Why is it that she's always twenty minutes late?" Krystal asked. She had never heard of someone being late by the same amount of time to every engagement, and never on purpose.

"Because," Katt explained, "That way by the time she's arrived the party has already started. That and some people consider it fashionable to be late. Though the goldfish excuse is just a Fay thing."

"I see." Krystal answered. Even after two weeks living in a city filled with them the ways of the Cornerians continued to surprise her. Not so much because any of the things they did seemed outrageously alien, but more because they were a maddeningly hard people to define. There seemed to be no consistent definition for them except that they all seemed to behave differently. Not to mention Krystal couldn't use her telepathy to gain herself more than a strong surface impression. It felt strange getting to know people without knowing not just what they thought but how they thought and what made them think they way that they did. Even if it did serve to make it a bit more interesting it also made it a thousand times more difficult than Krystal had ever imagined it could be to get to know someone.

"Krystal?"

"What?"

Katt shrugged. "Nothing. You seemed a little spaced out there for a second. Only a second though."

"Sorry. I was just thinking how strange it is the way I have to get to know people now, and how difficult it can be."

"Getting to know people is never easy. Especially if you feel a little shy." Katt stated.

"It's not that." Krystal replied.

"What then?" Katt asked, her eyebrows set in a curious expression.

"It's all of this privacy you Cornerians have built up." Krystal made a sweeping gesture with her arms as she continued, "I mean everything around here seems designed to make sure no one can see you, no one can hear you, it's a wonder that any of you know anyone at all. You seem utterly determined to keep people out of every aspect of life that you can."

Cocking her head a bit Katt asked, "It was different on Cerinia?"

"Very different." Krystal answered with a nod. "We all lived communally. Most everyone knew each other and if anyone new appeared you'd never have been able to keep people from feeling them out telepathically. The equivalent here would be people asking loads of questions. Not to mention the lengths you all go to hide your bodies. It astounds me that any of you can claim to be comfortable with all of the clothes you have on."

Smiling Katt replied, "You'll get no argument from me. Lots of people are still uptight about all sorts of things, especially people's bodies. Though in our defense we're a lot less judgmental than we used to be."

"There is that I suppose. Still..."

"I know. Bunch of prudes making you wear more than a bra and loin cloth. Personally though so long as you're inside the apartment I don't care if you walk around nude."

Krystal smirked at the other girl. "Don't tempt me. You know what I really didn't understand though about our shopping trip?"

"What?"

"Pajamas. Why would you wear that much clothing to sleep in? A loin cloth or undergarment maybe but...Gods they had whole sets of things. It mystifies me."

Katt's eyes widened a bit. "What do you sleep in?"

"Nothing of course. Cerinians always sleep in a natural state. We believe that it makes it easier for the gods and spirits to commune with us if we are in the natural state that they gave us. That and it rarely got very cold on Cerinia."

"Amazing."

Krystal wagged her tail. "Thank you."

A buzz sounded from the living room. "Must be one of the girls buzzing to come up. Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Katt said as she hopped off the bed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Krystal said following her.

Krystal had helped Katt clean up the apartment the day before in preparation for the little get together. The vacuum proved the latest in a list of things that had shocked her, though she had begun to have fun with it as soon as the noise had become bearable. Katt had explained to her that it was very good at sucking things out of carpet and that a broom simply wouldn't work. Of course carpet had also made it onto the shocking list, it seemed woefully impractical for any species that had a tendency to shed.

Katt made her way over to the intercom and pressed the talk button. "Who is it?"

From her position on the couch Krystal listened for the response. A second later a slightly husky sounding female voice said, "It's Fara. Can I come up?"

"Yep. I'll open the door."

After opening the door Katt came over to sit next to Krystal on the couch. "Fara is the fennec vixen right?"

"Yeah. And uh...she and Fox used to be an item so..."

Krystal cocked her head. "I'm not with Fox though. Are they still together?"

Katt shook her head. "Nah, it ended ages ago. I just thought I would let you know since I know you seem interested in Fox."

"Well he did save my life. Don't worry, I've never fought over a man in my life and I don't intend to start now." Krystal laid a paw on Katt's knee. "Trust me, I'm not a jealous vixen."

"Good because neither am I."

Both Krystal and Katt turned towards the door. Katt grinned and hopped up. "Phoenix!"

Observing the other vixen from the couch Krystal noted that she had a beige fur color, something she had never seen on her world, and very large ears. She was also wearing a little white dress with a big bronze belt buckle across the waist. As soon as Katt was through hugging the fennec Krystal stood up and smiled nicely. "Hello."

"Hey, I take it you're Krystal?" Fara walked over and looked the other vixen up and down.

"Yes. And you're Fara Phoenix I presume." Krystal gave the fennec her own up and down look in return. She didn't have to be a telepath to see Fara running a mental assessment of her. Krystal did the same.

"That would be right. Hug?" Fara smiled as she said it and Krystal couldn't have refused if she had wanted to. The offer of an embrace only confirmed Krystal's assessment, the fennec wanted nothing more than to be friends.

"Definitely." Krystal wrapped her arms around the beige furred vixen and took a moment to breathe in her scent. Not musky like she had expected, though it certainly smelled very rich and natural. Before they could separate she felt Fara plant a little peck on each cheek, much to her surprise. Finally breaking off the hug Krystal said, "Even Fox hasn't tried to kiss me yet. You move fast."

Fara blushed a bit at the reaction. "I take it you don't know the custom? It's called fair la bise. It's just a greeting that some of us do."

Krystal smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't tease like that. I think I've been around Katt too long."

Smirking Katt answered, "Yeah, you notice she didn't give me any fair la bise."

Fara looked over at where the pink feline had perched herself on the couch arm. "You always try to kiss me back on the lips. If you're going to do it back it still has to be on the cheeks."

"Now where's the fun in that?"

Fara looked back at Krystal. "I don't know how you live with her."

Smiling Krystal sat back down. "Katt has been nothing but wonderful."

Fara took the seat on the couch between both Katt and Krystal. "I suppose I can believe that. Miyu should be here any minute Katt, she called me on the way over."

Katt nodded. "All right. How have you been though Fara?"

"Oh can't complain. Daddy still has me running test flights and doing mechanical work. I enjoy it. Pays well too." Fara frowned at Katt when the other girl snorted. "What?"

"Pays well she says. Krystal that's code for billionaire father will get her anything she wants so long as she asks nicely."

Krystal looked between the two women for a moment. She could sense the vaguest of underlying tensions filling the conversation. It didn't seem enough that any sort of confrontation appeared imminent, but enough that there definitely had to be something of an issue concerning the subject between the two. "So I take it your family is wealthy then Fara?"

Fara nodded. "One way of putting it. My father owns Space Dynamics, most valuable company in the system. Mother owns a few plasma mining facilities as well. We get by."

"Jeez." Katt rolled her eyes. "She never wants to admit that her family is the richest family this side of the galactic arm. Her father could buy her the moon if he wanted to, and I do not exaggerate."

Krystal laughed. "I see. Why is it that you don't like to admit it Fara?"

A sigh escaped the fennec's mouth. "Because Katt, Miyu, and Falco especially came up from nothing. I got born into more wealth than most people can dream of, I don't want to rub it in."

"You do a bad job of it girl." Katt stated, though she was looking not unkindly at her friend.

"I hope being born into wealth isn't a serious issue around here." Krystal could sense how Fara felt, and she knew to a certain degree what it was like to be born into wealth. Perhaps not the guilty aspect of it, but at the very least she had wealthy parents in common with Fara.

"What do you mean?" Fara asked, her ears swiveling towards the blue vixen.

"My family was wealthy as well. My mother was a high priestess and my father was a merchant and jewel crafter, ten generations of family experience as well. We were always very well off."

Katt laid back on the top of the couch cushions to better see Krystal. Krystal had been wondering why so much fur collected on the tops of the cushions. "Big house then? Tons of land, swimming pools, that kinda thing?"

"No. We lived in a nice village though, our income helped support a lot of the farmers in the area." Krystal said.

"Oh," said Fara. "Then you had tenant farmers working for you?"

Krystal felt herself growing confused. Why would farmers work for a priestess and a merchant jeweler? "Um no. We shared our income with them during hard times or whenever they needed something that they couldn't afford."

"And took a share of whatever crop they had right?" Katt asked.

"What? Why would we do that? They're the ones growing it. If we wanted their crops we paid for them like anyone else. Do people do that here?" Now Krystal definitely felt confused.

Fara and Katt looked at each other for a moment and Krystal realized that they were as confused as she was. "So let me get this straight." Fara said. "You gave them money during hard times, helped them afford things beyond their own incomes if they needed it, but they weren't working for you in any capacity, and you were expected to buy any crops from them that you wanted?"

"Yes." Krystal said. "We all lived communally, but everyone relied on the farmers for food, so those of us who didn't farm were expected to help in other ways. If there was a bad harvest we always made sure that everyone would have enough to money to buy food from elsewhere. It was everyone really, though my family often had the most income so we contributed a good deal of it."

The intercom buzzed and Katt walked over to answer it. Fara shook her head. "Strange, did the farmers do anything for your family but take your money?"

Krystal frowned. "Of course, they made sure we were fed. And if we had fallen on hard times someone would have made sure to pay so that we didn't starve. Or if we needed help with our business or anything else they were always there to lend a hand. Does it not work that way here?"

Fara shrugged. "Not as much as it should I suppose. It just sounds like your people always believed in sharing wealth."

"Exactly!" Krystal smiled. Now Fara seemed to be getting it.

"Miyu is on her way up. And Krystal, your people sound more and more wonderful all the time. Did you pay for people's education to?"

Krystal's eyes widened. "Pay to learn? Your people make you pay for knowledge?" Now there was something to add to the list of shockingly strange about this world.

Katt nodded as she stretched out on top of the couch cushions again. "Oh yeah. Ask Miyu, she'll tell you all about it."

"All about what?"

Krystal looked over at the doorway to see an orange and black furred feline standing there. Her attire appeared different from any of the other girls, a pair of torn jeans with black stripes on them and a sleeveless shirt. _Tank top, Katt said that's a tank top. I like it. _

"About paying for education. Hey Miyu." Katt rolled off the couch cushions and onto her feet in one seemingly perfect motion.

Miyu walked into the apartment, rubbed noses with Katt, hugged Fara, and then smiled at Krystal. "So you must be the vixen McCloud rescued on Dinosaur Planet. I'm Miyu Lynx, pleased to meet you."

Krystal stood and embraced the lynx. "Lovely to meet you too Miyu. Now what's this about paying for a chance to learn things?"

Miyu grinned at her. "It's called med school. Or for most people just higher education. It took me about four years of mercenary work to be able to afford it all back in the day, plus my housing, so pretty damn expensive. Did you not go to college?"

Krystal shrugged. "We didn't call it that. But I had the best education that could be had. Though we didn't pay for it. Knowledge of any sort was a birth right to my people. You Cornerians do some strange things."

Miyu's grin widened. "We do indeed." Sitting down on the easy chair Miyu looked around the room. "Still all pink around here Katt?"

"Never planned on changing it. What time is it?"

Fara pulled out her perso-com. "Fifteen minutes past one. Fay should be here in five."

"_Purr_fect. I'll get us some drinks. What do you guys want?" Katt moved towards the kitchen.

"Something sweet." Fara said.

Krystal thought for a moment before answering, "Just water."

"Iced tea if you have it." Miyu called towards the kitchen. The lynx looked back at Krystal. "Nice dress by the way."

Krystal smiled, glowing at the compliment. "Thanks. We went shopping at the _Clothing Shack_ awhile ago, I needed some new clothes."

"What were you wearing before?" Fara inquired.

Returning with the drinks Katt whistled. "Oh you shoulda seen her. Brass bra, a bit constricting she later revealed, and a white linen loin cloth with gold embroidery. She looked drop dead tribal gorgeous."

"I think you were disappointed when she said she wanted new clothes weren't you Monroe?" Miyu said, a twinkle in her eye.

Smirking a bit Krystal replied, "I was surprised she didn't mope around the flat for the next week."

Blushing Katt just shook her head. "As you can see girls, self-esteem and confidence are two things Krystal does not lack."

Raising her glass of sweet tea Fara wagged her tail a bit. "Well then here's to Krystal, confident, and very blue vixen."

Krystal and the other girls raised their glasses in response, Katt while going to answer the intercom for a third time. As soon as they had finished drinking to the toast a very soprano voice asked, "I'm not late am I?"

"Fay!" Miyu jumped out of her seat and stalked over to the doorway. Krystal watched in fascination as the two girls regarded each other. "Twenty minutes late, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Fay wore a red dress that appeared longer on one side than the other, but it was hardly her most distinctive attribute. A top her head sat one of the biggest, and cutest, red bows Krystal had ever seen. "I'm sorry Miyu, you know me, memory of a goldfish for this sort of thing."

Miyu tipped her head forward at the spaniel, looking at her incredulously. "If only that were true. Come here."

Krystal smiled as the two embraced each other in what appeared to be a very affectionate hug. Much more affectionate than she had seen or received from anyone in a very long time, possibly ever. Krystal wondered for a moment if the two had been lovers at some point.

"They go so well together don't they?" Fara said to no one in particular.

"Yeah." Katt said. "Come on you two! Even I don't hug for that long unless me and the other girl have our clothes off."

Fay broke off the hug and walked over towards the couch. "I thought you liked boys too Katt."

"True." Katt replied to the spaniel. "But you're not here to try and get another juicy story out of me."

Krystal looked up at the spaniel, which didn't mean she had to look far, the little dog couldn't have been more than five feet tall. Even Fara had at least four inches on the spaniel. "I'm Krystal."

"I'm Fay." And without further ado the white furred dog launched herself onto Krystal, smothering her in a somewhat overly affectionate hug the likes of which Krystal was now certain she had never received.

Krystal wrapped her arms around the other girl and returned the hug as everyone else just laughed. When Fay released her and slid into the spot next to Krystal on the couch Katt said, "I probably should have warned you that Fay gives very big hugs. They're almost cuddles."

That seemed quite an understatement to Krystal. She felt her tail wag though and she couldn't help grinning at Fay. "Good thing I don't mind. Nice to meet you Fay."

"Same. So why are we here? And why don't I have a drink Katt?"

Getting up and heading back to the kitchen Katt called back, "To answer your question, Krystal wanted to meet all of you and make some new friends. That and she'd like to hear some embarrassing stories about Fox."

Fara snorted. "Oh my. How long do we have? I need at least an hour just to choose one."

"Are there really that many?" Krystal found herself wondering just how socially awkward Fox really was. He certainly seemed shy, but then a lot of men were shy.

Fay giggled. "Oh not really. Well maybe to Fara since they dated in high school. Fox just has a tendency to become a blushing mess around girls, especially if we do or say anything remotely sexual. He also has a bad time with romance, even though I always thought he was very romantic."

Miyu rolled her eyes as she flopped herself back down into the easy chair. "Fay you would call a rock romantic if it paid attention to you."

"Well maybe that's why I have so many friends." The little dog stuck her tongue out at the lynx. Krystal tried not to laugh, she looked simply adorable.

"Aw friend." Miyu did a double thumbs up as she said the words in a falsetto voice.

"Oh shut up." Fay crossed her arms. "Some of us really are just social butterflies. But we aren't here to have that argument, today is about Krystal."

"Indeed it is." Katt set a drink down in front of Fay.

Picking up the glass the dog lapped at it and then looked at the pink feline. "What is this?"

"The least sugary and totally uncaffeinated thing I have in my kitchen, because the last thing we need is for you to get hyperactive." Katt retook her seat on the couch arm before laying back down on the cushions. She made a playful bat at Fara's ears, earning her a growl from the fennec.

"Then it'll have to be less than a teaspoon of sugar in there since that's all it takes for her." Miyu said.

Fay simply stuck out her tongue at Miyu again, made a playfully dramatic pout, and then shrugged and went back to her drink.

"So, who wants to go first with Foxie stories?" Fara asked.

"I think you should Fara, you were his first girlfriend after all." Katt opined.

"Fine, let me think."

Krystal watched as the other vixen took a moment to collect her thoughts. Krystal certainly felt herself getting excited at the prospect of hearing about Fox. She hadn't had much more than a few phone calls the past two weeks, though Fox had promised to come back and visit soon.

"How about the first time story Fara?" Miyu asked. "That one is probably the best."

Fara frowned. "It's as embarrassing for me as it is for Fox."

"Yeah but then Krystal gets to know you and Fox all at the same time." Krystal noticed that Miyu seemed very eager to hear the story, it must be a good one.

Fara gave a sigh and then agreed. "Fine. So way back when in senior year of high school Fox and I had been going steady for about a year. We liked each other, held paws, kissed every now and again, went to parties together, all the normal stuff. Then came my birthday."

"This is the good part." Miyu interrupted.

Fara cast a rather pointed look at the lynx before continuing. "Well Krystal, as I'm sure you and every girl here knows Fox is a very, very attractive man. He's buff, at least for a vulpine, and he's a nice guy and all of that. And I really, really liked him back then."

"She used to kiss his yearbook picture goodnight." Miyu interrupted again, a wicked smile on her face. "I'm not sure whether it was cute or just stalkerish."

Fara blushed and her ears folded down. "You just had to bring that up didn't you?"

"Yep." Miyu adopted a very self-satisfied look.

Krystal made sure to restrain her smile. She liked how these girls always seemed to be sniping at each other, it reminded her of how she and most of her friends had been, truly wicked and merciless, if all in good fun. "Are you always like this Miyu?" Krystal looked curiously at the orange and black furred feline.

"Pretty much. She's more a bitch than me." Fay answered for the lynx.

"That's saying something too coming from an _actual_ bitch." Miyu's expression went from satisfied to wickedly joyous all at once.

Fay growled but her tail wagged against the couch.

"Hey, can we get back to the story? I love it when Phoenix tells this one." Katt said from where she lay atop the couch, clearly trying to restrain herself from reaching up and playing with Fara's ears.

"Yes lets." Krystal agreed.

Fara took a breath and then continued. "Anyways as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," she sent another pointed look in Miyu's direction, "Fox is a very attractive man. And he was very cute when he was a teenager, Krystal you would die to see him back then. That being said I wanted something rather...special for my eighteenth birthday."

"What was it you wanted?" Krystal had a feeling she knew what Fara was referring to, but she wanted to hear it all the same.

"I wanted to have sex with him." Fara's ears flattened again as she blushed. "Like I said I really, really liked him back then and I wanted him to be my first. So after the party started to wind down I took him up to my room, took off my clothes and flat out told him to have sex with me."

"I see." Krystal smiled a bit. "Was he any good?" All eyes suddenly whipped around to look at the blue vixen. "What? It's a legitimate question isn't it?"

Fara shrugged. "I never really got to find out that night."

Krystal looked at her questioningly. "This is the good part." Miyu said, hiding a smile.

"The good part if you weren't involved." Fara said with irritation. "You see just as we were getting into it, I mean really getting into it, well...the door opened and boom! There's mom."

Krystal sucked in a shocked breath. She could imagine how embarrassing that must have been for Fara, and for Fox, and for Fara's mother. "Gods. Did she not take it well?"

Grimacing Fara responded, "If anything she took it a little too well. She just rolled her eyes and told me not to ruin the sheets. Fucking vixens. After that Fox was too embarrassed to touch me again. I decided to just mercy kill the relationship for him, and it was more than a month before he could bring himself to even hug me in front of people. He would just kind of stand there awkwardly. Not that I was any better."

Putting a paw on Fara's shoulder Krystal said in sympathy, "I can imagine how embarrassing that must have been. Though your mother's reaction sounds just like what mine would have done."

Miyu shook her head. "I guess vixens are the same no matter what planet they're from."

"Thanks Krystal. That's probably the best reaction to that story I've ever gotten. Better than anything I got from these three when it happened." Patting Krystal's paw with her own she gave the other vixen a thankful smile.

"Hey! We were nothing if not comforting and understanding at the time." Katt responded, looking slightly indignant.

"Laughing hysterically and asking if my mother made a habit of walking in on me in those situations is not what I call comforting and understanding." Fara said, shooting a glare at the pink feline.

"Oh shut up, I was young and very interested in that sort of thing." Katt replied, batting at the fennec's ears again.

This time in addition to a growl Fara smacked the paws away. "No kidding. You were the high school sex symbol, even if you never let anyone but Falco get a nibble."

Katt winked at her. "That was the secret dear. Dangle yourself, it's more effective than just throwing yourself at them."

"No cat fights over seduction techniques girls." Fay interrupted. "I think it's more information than Krystal would want to know on first meeting you."

Chuckling Krystal swished her tail. "Oh don't worry, the vixen inside me would love to hear more, but Fay is right, maybe later."

"Can we ask Krystal a question?" Fay asked then.

"That's up to her." Katt replied, looking longingly at Fara's ears.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Krystal asked the spaniel.

"Well I was wondering what the story is behind Fox rescuing you. The tabloids haven't even printed a fictional account yet."

"I guess I could hit the high lights. If you girls really want to hear it?" Krystal asked, though she knew that every girl in the room felt quite eager to hear the story. Four heads nodded with enthusiasm. "All right then. I was on Dinosaur Planet responding to a distress call..." Krystal outlined how she had been traveling through space when she had picked up the signal, and how when she had responded she had nearly been killed by General Scales and been subsequently trapped inside a diamond on top of the Krazoa Palace.

"Then Fox came along. I sensed him when he entered the Palace, and soon enough he came right up to where I was trapped. He stood there gawking for a little while..."

"Gawking?" Fara asked, amusement in her voice. "What did he look like?"

Krystal shrugged. "I can't really say, I kept fading in and out of consciousness while I was imprisoned. Though I could sense a certain degree of...interest from him."

That got a collective giggle from all the girls. The Miyu asked, "What do you mean sense though?"

"I'm a telepath." Krystal answered matter-of-factly. The girls responded with slightly confused stares. "Oh, I suppose Katt didn't tell you that bit."

"Yeah sorry, she can read minds girls." Katt explained. "She read mine when she first got here. It's pretty awesome."

Krystal could feel a certain trepidation coming from the girls now, she couldn't blame them. "Please don't worry. I know that here on this world thoughts are considered private, I would never read a person's mind without permission. Never."

"Seriously guys, she means that." Katt said. Krystal couldn't begin to describe how much she appreciated the pink cat's back up.

The mood in the room returned to normal when Miyu said, "I'd love to get your brain under a scanner at Corneria Medical. I've never encountered telepathy before."

Fay smiled. "Paging evil doctor Miyu."

"Maybe one day." Krystal replied. "But shall we get back to the story?"

"Definitely." Fara answered.

Krystal then explained the process by which Fox had released each Krazoa Spirit one after another until eventually the diamond around her had quite suddenly evaporated, illustrating the suddenness with a snap of her fingers. "I nearly ended up falling to my death, but Fox managed to catch me with my own staff weapon. He pulled me up, our eyes met and...well a few days later I ended up here on Corneria." Krystal finished.

The room remained silent for a few moments before Fay whistled. "Wow. Right out of a storybook."

"I was going to say fairytale." Miyu added.

"Damn." Fara shook her head. "At the very least it's romantic. And you said Fox hasn't kissed you yet?"

"Well...not exactly. He himself hasn't tried to. Though when I came on board I said the condition of me coming back with him was that he had to give me a kiss." Krystal amended. "He blushed more than I've ever seen someone blush before, but he managed it. Does he blush every time a girl asks something like that?"

Fara laughed. "Oh you should have seen him when I told him to have sex with me. He darn near caught on fire, though his sheath overrode his embarrassment pretty quickly."

"Poor Fox." Krystal said. "Ah well, at least he's cute when he blushes."

"There is that." Fara agreed.

"So," said Katt. "Anyone got some more Fox stories?"

"Oh I have one!" Fay called out, bouncing slightly on the couch. "Can I tell mine?"

"Yes Fay." Katt responded with a roll of the eyes. "Considering you look about to burst with bubbles."

"Awesome! So does anyone remember the victory parties after Andross's defeat?" Fay asked the room.

Miyu groaned. "I believe my head and my liver do yes."

"I distinctly remember having several long nights with Falco and one or two bottles of vodka." Katt answered, purring a bit at the memory. "I enjoyed them."

"I remember Fox forgetting to call me for the first three days." Fara responded with a bitter but mocking tone.

"I take it they were rather wild parties?" Krystal asked.

"Oh yeah." Fay explained. "I don't think I've ever been to parties that were crazier. Can't blame people, we all thought we were going to die or live under the rule of a deranged evil scientist. People were relieved. So for a week or two after the formal announcement people kind of just let loose and went a little crazy. Except Fox."

"What did Fox do?" Krystal inquired, cocking her head to the side.

Fay let out a dramatic sigh. "He had originally planned on doing nothing, he told me as much when I called him. Well being his good friend and the consummate socialite of the group I could not in good conscience allow him to just sit in his apartment and mope when there were good times to be had."

"By good times she basically means sex, boos, and rock and roll." Miyu interrupted. "Not that I don't agree they can be good times. Though the head and liver sometimes disagree."

"To hell with the liver and the brain then." Fay replied, tossing her hair and a mischievous look at her orange and black furred friend. "Sometimes you just got to let yourself have some wicked bad fun. Of course Fox just always tries to be the responsible leader and so while the rest of the team was enjoying themselves a bit, hell even Peppy went out drinking with general Pepper, Fox decided to just sit at home doing...well nothing."

"I hope you made sure to change that." Krystal definitely felt herself getting interested. Fox had to have some scandal in his life, even a hero had blights on his record, it made them interesting when you got to know them.

"Oh yes, I made sure to change that." Fay answered, grinning happily, tail wagging.

"Yeah, I saw it in the tabloids a week later." Katt added, licking absently at her paws.

"Hee hee. I really did a good job didn't I?" Fay snickered.

"Depends how you look at it." Katt riposted. "Though I agree. Now get on with it, Krystal looks like she's dying to know."

Fay gleefully launched back into the story. "As soon as I heard his plan, I hadn't even hung up yet, I made my way down to my car and drove right over to his apartment. I was still on the com when I got to his building's parking garage and asked if I could come over. The moment he opened the door I put my foot down and told him to wear something that made him look handsome because we were going to the first party I could find to dance, eat, laugh, and get drunk. I mean he deserved it after all of that I think, it would have been cruel to let him just sit and stew.

"So that night we ended up at my friend Kita's house, she's a very short corgi, like shorter than me. Throws a mean party though, and has an excellent taste in music, only the best of rock. It took him about twenty minutes to stop standing awkwardly and dance. Actually I might have shoved him onto the dance floor. By the end of it he was dancing, drinking, and enjoying himself more than I've seen him do in a very long time. As for hearing about in the tabloids, that would have been the picture of him getting kissed good night by Kita. She can be flirty, it really didn't mean anything. Though we did crash there. I made sure he did it once or twice more before I considered it mission accomplished. So, what do you think of him now Krystal?" Fay asked as she ended the story.

Adopting a comically thoughtful look Krystal pretended to take a few moments to consider her answer. "Hmmm. I think he's alive and capable of being more social than I've seen him so far. I like him more now."

Fay's tail wagged. "Yay! I knew I did the right thing back then. Though he was mad at me about the tabloid picture for months. Just goes to show you never know who's taking a picture of you at a party. Kita flipped out too though."

"What about you Miyu? Do you and Fox have any memories?" Krystal asked the lynx.

"Oh sure, loads. We dated for a little while about five years back." The lynx cast a glance at Fara as she said this.

"I'm not jealous Miyu." Fara replied as she met the other girl's gaze. "I don't know why you insist on trying to make me envious of it."

Miyu just waved a paw. "Oh don't worry I'm only teasing. You want to hear the story Krystal?"

"Please." Krystal nodded enthusiastically. "Though Katt I'm wondering why you didn't tell me about Miyu if you told me about Fara."

Katt shrugged. "Just listen, the relationship was a bit different. Fox and Miyu is...well just different, less cause for serious jealousy."

"I'm not jealous Katt, I never have been." Fara replied, looking increasingly annoyed at the constant implication that she was some sort of possessive, jealous, bitch.

"Just saying Fara." Katt replied, "I mean you did kiss his yearbook photo goodnight. But we'll let it rest. Tell us the story Miyu."

Miyu settled back in her easy chair a bit, bringing her legs up onto the seat. "So it was about five, maybe six years ago, back when I was still doing mercenary work. I got a mission to break up an arms deal on Fichina, it really wasn't a big deal, barely a blip on the defense force radar, which is why I was shocked when I ran into Fox in one of the mining towns. I asked him why he was there and he told me he had been hired for the same exact job I was on. Needless to say I was mad as hell. It's typical though with the military, hire a man to go in and help out the poor hapless girl who took the job. At least we were getting paid the same otherwise I might just have ended up beating the living shit out of my handler."

"Wait why is it typical? Why would they send a man to do your job if you could handle it?" Krystal asked, confused.

Fara grunted. "Even these days there are places that misogyny still has a grip. The military isn't as bad as it used to be but there are still plenty of asses there who think men will always be more qualified. It's just something you learn to deal with."

Shaking her head the only thing Krystal could think to say was, "Your world is strange. Go on Miyu."

"Anyways," Miyu continued. "We got into a bit of an argument at that point. Fox said he understood why I was so angry but that so long as I was there I might as well back _him_ up. Emphasis on me backing _him_ up. Fox is a wonderful guy but sometimes...well sometimes he's very protective of people he loves, women friends especially, that he doesn't realize when he's sounding irritatingly male chauvinist. It's rare with him but it happens. The fight lasted a little longer before we finally decided to work together and kiss and makeup. Except the kiss and makeup part ended up being a lot more than kissing. And unlike Fara no one interrupted us. To answer the question you asked though Krystal, yeah he's wonderful once you get him to let loose.

"After that we decided to give a relationship a shot. I never officially joined his team but I hung around for close to a year. Eventually though we just realized that the physical attraction was all we really had. Not that we didn't love each other as friends, but ultimately that romantic attraction wasn't there. So we ended it, like Fara he acted awkward for a little while, and then after a few months it all just turned into warm, fond, and somewhat sticky memories." Miyu added the last bit with a smirk. Fay rolled her eyes as did Fara, and Katt just let out a loud purr.

"My, Fox is quite the ladies man isn't he?" Krystal said. "Who else has he slept with? "

"No one else actually." Katt answered. "So far as any of us are aware he only ever got halfway there with Fara and never had it full on with anyone else but Miyu."

"Hence why she thinks I should be jealous." Fara added.

"I almost am a little." Krystal admitted.

Fara cocked her head. "Really?"

"Almost." Krystal reminded her. "Like I said he's very handsome. Isn't that right?"

"Very true." Katt said, "I don't know of any girl who wouldn't want him. Of course he dangles himself with such mastery it looks like he isn't even trying."

"Katt," Fara said."That's because he isn't. He has a policy of never sleeping with his fans. Which is pretty noble."

"Eh." Katt shrugged. "I think he just has a policy against indulgence in general. But whatever makes him happy."

Krystal smiled and leaned back against the couch cushions as Fay and the others recounted a few more far less scandalous stories. Mainly just silly instances of Fox blushing or tripping over his own tongue, nothing she herself hadn't already experienced with him. As the afternoon turned to the evening the girls slowly began to make their excuses, Miyu because she had work in the morning, Fay because she had a date that she needed to be late for, and finally Fara said she had best get going so she didn't fall asleep doing test piloting. As she left Fara said to Krystal, "Hey, do you have any uh, intentions with Fox?"

Krystal cocked her head. "Intentions?"

"Do you mean to date him at some point I suppose." Fara elaborated.

"Oh. Um. Yes actually. I very much like him." Krystal answered. "I hope that won't be a problem. I don't mean to tread in your territory or anything."

Fara held up her paws. "Oh whoa not what I meant at all. You can definitely go after Fox. That boat sailed for me a long time ago, and I sort of figured you were interested anyways. I just meant that if you are we should get together more often, I might be able to give you some advice on how to attract his interest. Miyu and Fay too."

Krystal smiled and wagged her tail. "That would be wonderful."

"Brilliant." Fara smiled back, her own tail wagging. "You know fair la bise is good for saying goodbye too."

"Is it now?" Krystal said before leaning forward and giving the fennec a kiss on each cheek. The kisses were promptly returned.

"See you later Katt. And Krystal, Katt can give you all our numbers. Call me whenever Fox does something stupid or bashful."

"Will do." Krystal replied.

As soon as the door shut Katt came up next to her. "I think she likes you."

"I think so too. Were you worried?" Krystal looked at her friend inquisitively.

"To be honest, yes. Glad I was wrong though. What did you think of everybody?"

"I thought they were wonderful. We should do this again." Krystal answered happily.

"_Purr_fect." Katt said. "I'm sure all the girls would be thrilled. Now, let's make something to eat because I'm starved."

"Good idea."

* * *

That night Krystal fell asleep feeling remarkably satisfied with life. It had been a long time since she had met so many wonderful people. Fara had been amazing, Miyu witty and sarcastic, and Fay simply seemed bubbly, happy, and utterly affectionate to everyone she met. For a long time Krystal had been floating around without anyone she could call a friend, and rarely anyone to talk to but herself. She had nearly gone insane on more than one occasion. The planets she had visited she had never felt safe enough to stay on for more than a few days at most, and the few people she had met had never been particularly interested in getting to know her and becoming friends. In essence it had been a very long time since Krystal had felt like there was any place left in the galaxy she could call home. Now though, lying in bed in Katt's apartment, stomach full, a closet stuffed with new clothes, and a growing number of people who wanted to get to know her; Krystal finally felt like she had made the right decision in staying with Fox and coming with him to his world. "This is home." Krystal said softly to herself before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her.


	5. Chapter 5 Falcons, Herons, and Pink Cats

A/N: Well, it has been awhile. More than a month actually, and I'm sorry for such a long delay between chapters, things have been getting a lot busier in the last few weeks of the semester for me, not that that is any excuse. This chapter skips ahead a few weeks from the last chapter so if you're confused about why Krystal is suddenly training with Star Fox, well that happened off screen. The reason for that happening off screen is because, while in the process of making this chapter about Fox offering her a place on the team, I decided I didn't like the idea of an entire chapter of Fox and Krystal in a story about Katt and Krystal. And, forgive me for saying this, but I'm a bit tired of writing Fox and Krystal stuff all the time, so I decided I would skip a few weeks and write a chapter about a pairing I've rarely written but very much adore: FalcoxKatt. Suffice it to say that Fox's appearances in this story are something I'm trying to minimize as much as possible, since I want to give Krystal a chance to shine without Fox always being around to be an adorable, blushing, stuttering, fluff ball. So I'm sorry if you were expecting Fox and Krystal romance in here, I'm going to be avoiding it as much as possible in this story, for the simple reason that after four years of writing it almost exclusively I really want to do something else. Oh and chapter 1-4 have all gotten a little revision, primarily just fixing some mechanical issues, nothing major, just an FYI. All right I've rambled long enough, let's get on to the story...

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Five

Falcons, Herons, and Pink Cats

"Katt!"

Katt's ears perked at the sound of Krystal calling her name. She heard the door to the apartment shut and called back, "In the bedroom hon!"

Turning at the sound of the bedroom door opening Katt smiled and twirled around."What do you think?" She asked, showing off the short pink dress she had on.

Krystal looked at the dress critically for a moment before nodding her approval. "I like it. A bit short though isn't it?"

"Better for dancing love." Katt turned back to view herself in the mirror. "And it shows off my legs too."

"Never a bad thing." Krystal sat down on the bed. "Planning on doing some dancing tonight then?"

"I have a date actually." Katt smiled. "I finally relented and called up Falco. We're going to the Heron club for drinks and dancing tonight."

"Oh. So that's why he looked so happy today." Krystal put her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her paws. "Fox still hasn't asked me out yet."  
Katt's eyes widened. Immediately turning to Krystal she put her paws on her hips and said, "Seriously?"

"Mmhmm. He hasn't made one move. Except the usual blushing and stuttering every now and again."

Katt shook her head in wonderment. "I'm honestly surprised. When he asked you to try out for Star Fox I could have sworn the next thing coming would be a date, and then more dates, and then bed, and then marriage."

Krystal's eyes widened at the mention of marriage. "Let's not go that far."

Katt gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"Marriage." Krystal explained. "I think it's a little early for me to be thinking about marrying Fox, or marrying anybody for that matter. I mean I like him but..."

"You don't have to explain Krystal." Katt interrupted. "I'm a good seven years older than you and I still don't feel ready for marriage, not that I ever really planned on it to begin with, though that might change. But you're young, nineteen, you should be out partying and doing things you might regret later in life. I know I was."

"I doubt Fox would approve. But then it's his own fault if I get wild because he won't date me." Krystal said with a smirk.

Katt laughed. "Atta girl. Have fun and show him what he's missing."

"When do you have to leave?" Krystal asked.

Katt looked at her perso-com by the bed. "He should be around to pick me up in a few minutes. And for once I'm actually ready to go before he gets here."

"Will you be gone all night?"

Sighing Katt replied, "Well it depends on how he behaves himself tonight. If he's bad then I'll probably just leave early. If he's good on the other hand..."

Krystal smiled. "I'll make myself breakfast in the morning then. Assuming he behaves himself."

Sitting down on the bed next to Krystal Katt asked, "So, how was your day? Other than Fox being irritatingly slow on the uptake?"

Krystal huffed. "At the rate he's going it'll be a year or more before he gets around to it."

"Oh now Krystal," Katt said, putting her arms around the vixen. "Patience is a virtue."

"I've been patient for nineteen years Katt, if you get my drift." Krystal gave the feline a look that told Katt everything she needed to know about the way Krystal was drifting. Katt avoided smiling. "But other than Fox my day was a good one. I shot Slippy down in the simulators for the first time today. No great achievement according to Falco..."

"Oh that's just him being an ass to Slip." Katt shook her head. "Slippy has been flying Arwings as long as either of them, he isn't as good but considering you only got your qualification a few weeks ago, I'd say that's good progress."

"Well to be fair," Krystal continued, tail wagging at Katt's compliment. "I have flown starfighters before. Though the Arwing is very different. The G-diffusers are much more efficient at cancelling Gs than anything Cerinia had."

Katt nodded. "Yeah, there's virtually no inertia with them. It takes a little getting used to."

"Indeed. Oh, Fox said he thinks I'm a natural by the way." Krystal's tail started wagging again at that, her face lighting up a bit at the memory, confirming for Katt that the vixen still very much liked McCloud.

"Well he would wouldn't he?" Katt said. "Though actually I've never heard Fox describe anyone like that before, and he's usually pretty honest. Don't worry girl, you'll be flying circles around them in no time."

A buzz sounded from the living room. Krystal's ears swiveled towards the sound. "Falco."

"Sure?" Katt asked. "Could be Fox coming to sweep you off your feet and carry you away."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "That'll be the day. Let me ask you this though, would Fox be thinking 'I wonder if she still has the piercings?'"

Grinning Katt said, "No, Fox is too much of a gentleman." Katt grabbed her perso-com and stowed it away in her purse before the two made it out to the living room."Uh Krystal?"

"Yes?"

"Was he thinking that in a good way or a bad way?" Katt suddenly felt a bit nervous. She had gotten her nipple piercings only a few years ago, and Falco had only ever seen them once since then. She thought he liked them, but then she didn't have the benefit of a telepath back then, and Falco had lied to her before.

Krystal gave her a sly look. "Oh a good way, a very good way. Have fun tonight Katt, and make sure he behaves himself."

"If he doesn't I can count on you to make his life hell during the day right?" Katt smiled.

"Yep. Count on it."

Turning to the intercom Katt buzzed Falco back and told him she would be right down. She gave Krystal a quick hug and then headed out the door. On the way down in the elevator she smoothed her dress a bit and tried to control the swarm of butterflies that had suddenly infiltrated her stomach. "Come on Katt." She whispered to herself. "It's Falco. Total known quantity, don't be so nervous."

The elevator stopped, though Katt noticed it had only gone down two floors. The doors opened and a female snow leopard walked in. Katt smiled, she knew Zoya from The Wild Animal, though she tended bar rather than danced, still topless of course. "Evening Zoya. Doing well?"

Zoya returned the smile. "Very well. Date tonight?" She asked.

"Yep."

"Hmm." Zoya looked at her appraisingly. "Glad to know I'm not the only one with more than one lover."

Katt looked at her curiously as the floors continued to tick down. "What do you mean?"

"You and the blue vixen." Zoya said. "Are you not..."

Feeling her ears flush Katt replied quickly, "No uh, no we aren't."

Zoya just smiled. Katt had a feeling the leopardess didn't quite believe her. "I see."

"So," Katt began. "You having an affair?"

Zoya just swished her tail. "That would be telling."

"Since when do you not tell?" Katt put a paw on her hip and tilted her head at the other feline. Zoya could keep a secret about anyone but herself.

The doors opened and Katt saw they had reached the ground floor. Zoya stepped out and Katt followed. After clearing the doors Zoya paused and said, "Fair enough. Though it is not an affair, the three of us are actually all together in the relationship. Know what I mean?"  
Katt smiled. "Zoya, I never knew you were poly."

"_Da_, I am, and very happy with it. Now I do not want to be late. Have fun on your date tonight by the way."

"I will. You have fun on yours. And make sure to tell me more soon as you get the chance." Katt said.

"Thank you dear, and I will. _Do svidaniya_!"

Katt just shook her head and watched the snow leopard walk away. "Zoya you never cease to amaze me."

"Katt?"

"Falco." Katt turned and looked Falco up and down. "Hmmm. You could have dressed better."

Falco frowned, at least as well as he could with a beak. Somehow he always managed to pull off smiles and frowns, though he refused to explain how. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"It's the shoes Falco." Katt said, pointing downwards at them.

The avian followed her gaze and frowned a bit more. "So what's wrong with them? These are good sneakers, I bought 'em special for this."

"Are you sure the place we're going doesn't have a problem with informal footwear?"

Falco shook his head. "Nah. I doubt they care about shoes. Places like this just want you wearing a nice shirt. And come on, my shirt's nice. Right?"

"Yes." Katt admitted. "It's actually nicer than what I'm used to with you. Come on, let's get going."

Falco nodded and held out his arm for her. Smiling that he had remembered that bit of etiquette Katt wrapped both of her arms around his, she felt affectionate tonight. "Did you take the tube or get a cab?"

"Cab." Falco responded, looking slightly proud of himself. "Driver is waiting just outside."

Katt flicked her tail against his leg as they walked out. "Off to a good start little man."

Falco held the cab door open for her before following after her. "Where to sir?"

"The Heron club." Falco responded.

"You got it." The cabby replied.

"I've never been to the Heron. Though I saw a magazine spread about it, supposed to be pretty high end." Katt said, flexing her claws to check the polish.

"I haven't been either." Falco responded. "Figured we'd try something different than our usual routine."

Katt glanced at him skeptically. "We have a usual routine?"

"I thought we did." Falco answered, looking unsure of himself for a moment.

"Well then, I guess we do." Katt answered. "Though don't you think for a minute that that, or this, means we are _ever_ going steady again."

Falco cocked his head. "Did we ever really go steady?"

"Yes." Katt said. "Then we both started rocking the boat."

"True. Let's not talk about it though." Falco said as he put an arm around her. "I want tonight to go perfect. Loud music, dancing, drinks, fun. The works."

Katt relaxed and put her head on his shoulder. "Well then, the night might just end with fireworks."

Falco smiled at that, and Katt could tell he was mentally congratulating himself on coming up with a plan actually to her liking. Katt would admit she could be finicky, though especially so with Falco, he was cute when his feathers got all ruffled.

A few minutes later the taxi stopped at a curb lit by a massive holographic sign identifying the establishment out front as the Heron. Falco paid and once again held the door for her, this time while she got out. _My he's actually being a gentleman this time. _

"I hate to say this," Falco began, "But I think we're going to have to wait awhile to get in."

Katt looked at the line, long to be sure, though not as long as she had seen it on many nights at The Wild Animal. "No worries, so long as we get in."

"Yeah, sure thing Katt." Falco said as he followed her towards the back of the line.

Taking her place behind a bear and a doe, a rather odd couple, Katt tried not to purr at the fact that the two couldn't quite keep their paws away from each other. The sight of a happy couple never failed to make Katt feel like purring, something that often made for an awkward moment here or there, she remained unapologetic. "So little man, how are things holding up?"

Falco shrugged. "I can't complain. Fox has been pretty cool about letting me back on the team. And uh Krystal..."

"What?" Katt looked at him sidelong. "That chest of hers distracting you?"

Falco cawed. "I could ask you the same thing."

Katt's tail wrapped around her leg briefly. "True." She answered. "I hear Fox thinks she's got real talent, in the cockpit I mean."

"Or as a..."

Falco stopped short and grunted as Katt's elbow made contact with his ribcage. "Don't be obscene, the girl deserves more than to be lusted after. Even if she can't help attracting that sort of attention from the boys and the girls."

"Ow. And OK, no jokes about Krystal." Falco rubbed at his side. "These feel bruised."

"They aren't." Katt said. "Besides if I had wanted to hurt you I just would socked you in the beak again."

"Funnny." Falco replied. "How have you been doing? Still dancing?"

"Yep." Katt grinned. "And still managing to hold my rank as most popular girl."

"Must be the pink fur dye." Falco said dryly.

"Must be." Katt said. "Or the piercings."

"Still got 'em?"

"They can be a bit hard to get rid of Falco." Katt said sardonically. "So yes. Play your cards right you might just get a chance to see for yourself tonight."

Falco slipped an arm around her waist. "Then it's a good thing I'm good at cards."

"Bullshit. You lost every time we played poker, even when we were playing strip poker and you were actually trying." Katt tried not to giggle at the memory, Falco had been quite put out at the fact that he had lost everything and she hadn't lost a stitch.

"I remember those days." Falco said, actually managing to look a bit nostalgic. "We had it good back then."

"Competing with Star Fox for mercenary work is not what I call good Falco." Katt answered. "Though I guess we did have some fun together."

"Every night sometimes." Falco gave her a cocky look.

"Don't drool at the memory, it's not attractive." Katt answered with an eye roll.

"Sorry. Gotta watch my behavior don't I?"

"Well," Katt said. "You're doing better than usual."

Falco smiled at that. "Better than usual. Better than I usually hear."

The line moved slowly but steadily, and for once Falco managed to make himself an appealing conversationalist. Katt couldn't help but be amused as Falco obviously exaggerated his exploits as a solo pilot. The bird really could spin a tale when he wanted to, and Katt actually felt like listening. Even if the avian tended to get on her nerves she knew there were very few people she liked more. She would never admit it though, least of all to him, but she had missed him when he had been gallivanting all across the sector on his own, even worried about him on occasion. _I guess it kind of does feel good to have him back finally. Even if I'm certain he'll make an ass of himself sooner or later. _

Finally they had reached the front of the line but, just as they were about to head in, the bouncer, a very large stag held out a paw and said, "Sir, we can't let you in."

Katt's eyes widened. _Oh shit it's the shoes. I knew it!_

"And why's that?" Falco asked, already looking angry.

"Your shoes sir, strict dress code, formal shoes only."

Falco's eyes widened and he started to look embarrassed. Of course Katt knew nothing could be more dangerous than a humiliated Falco. Much like her Falco had a tendency to get drastic when he had been embarrassed, though he had yet to top Katt's own lamp throwing incident. Stepping towards the stag and doing her best to look sexy, not a difficult task for her, Katt said, "You sure we can't find some wiggle room there dear? Forgiveness is a virtue after all."

The stag looked at her and said, "So is modesty."

Katt looked at the stag incredulously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I've seen you before. And I don't make exceptions for shoes or sluts who work topless bars trying to flirt their boyfriend's way in. So shove off, people are waiting."

Katt could feel it. That burning sensation under her fur. The way her eyes were getting a lot wider. The way her fur had started to stick out. She could also feel her claws flexing and her right paw getting ready to give out a flying slap of death. If there had been a lamp nearby Katt knew she would have thrown it at the stag by now.

"Excuse me?" Said Falco. "What did you just call her?"

The stag looked at him with an annoyed expression. "A slut."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said."

Katt watched as Falco then proceeded to connect his fist with the stag's muzzle. The stag, who apparently hadn't been expecting the attack, fell to the ground clutching his jaw. Katt, still feeling a need to vent her own anger gave the stag a kick in the ribs, causing the stag to let out a loud yelp. Before Katt could add an insult to the injury she had caused however Falco grabbed her arm and tugged at her. Looking up she noticed a couple of other burly men in shirts that said security on them coming out to see what had happened. "Run?"

"Unless you want to pick a fight on our date?"

Katt shook her head and the two immediately set off at a breakneck pace. The club security didn't chase them so, a few blocks later, they managed to hail a cab. Falco looked at her and she said, "Your place."

Falco gave them cabby an address and the hovercar set itself in motion. The cabby, a coyote said, "You two in some sort of trouble?"

"We might have just beaten a club bouncer." Katt said, trying to get her fur back under control.

"He insulted her." Falco added. "Called her a slut so I decked him."

The coyote grunted. "Good to see some men still stand by their ladies. People got no place calling any woman stuff like that."

"Thank you." Katt said. For once she didn't mind a talkative cabby.

They made it back to Falco's place and Falco paid the cabby, adding in as large a tip as he could afford, which was pretty large it seemed. They were silent as the elevator took them up to his floor. Falco let them into his apartment and Katt waited for him to shut the door. When he turned around Katt pounced on him, literally. Falco's back hit the wall and Katt did her best to stick to him as she wrapped her legs around him as well as she could, all the while planting kisses on his beak. Falco put his arms under her to support her, though he looked a bit confused. "Uh Katt?"

"What?" She said, biting lightly at his neck.

"What's happening?" Falco asked, visibly attempting to restrain himself from giving in until he knew exactly what she had in mind. After all she had always loved to remind him that a cats ate birds.

Pulling back just a bit so she could look him the eyes she said, "Falco Lombardi, you just punched a man in defense of my honor, or what little I have. You also did your best to make this the best date we've ever had, and the thought is what counts with me. Now it's my turn, and I'm going to give you the roughest, craziest, most sleepless night you'll ever get."

"I like the sound of that." Falco said, his beak curving upwards. "Carry on."

"Gladly." Katt replied, going back to nibbling at his neck. Meanwhile Falco managed to carry her over to the couch where they promptly fell over, earning a yowl and subsequent giggle from Katt. "Careful Falco. And uh...not the bed?"

"I figured we'd make it there eventually." Falco responded, a cocky grin forming on his beak.

"Right. Come on stud, let's see if you've still got it." Katt pulled him close, determined to enjoy every feather on her surprisingly noble blue falcon's body for the rest of the night and into the morning.


	6. Chapter 6 Morning After

A/N: It's been awhile. I apologize for the long wait for this update, but, hopefully, it will be worth it for you all.

Just a few =things before we begin. I am bumping the rating for this story up to M, this chapter is probably borderline, but the next chapter...well you'll see. Second, I have changed the category from simple friendship to friendship/romance, gee I wonder why? If you didn't see that coming...well I have no words. Third and finally, this story is near completion. In fact I myself have finished it, so after this chapter there will be one more update which I will post in a couple of days, I hope you guys can stick with it for that long.

Other than that there isn't much to say, except I hope you enjoy some more Katt and Krystal of which this story is a very healthy dose.

* * *

Chapter Six

Morning After

Krystal woke to the sound of her alarm going off, growling she slammed her paw down on it. If Krystal ever met the person who had invented the alarm clock she was going to kill him out of a moral duty to the world. Vengeance for all the good dreams interrupted, deep sleeps broken, and sensitive vulpine ears assaulted. Swinging her legs over the bed she yawned, stretched, and sighed. Eight AM wasn't that bad a time to be waking up, at least normally. Last night though had been anything but normal, in fact it had been a very restless night. Thoughts of Fox as well as of Katt had conspired to keep her awake, at least until her paws had managed to find a way to ease the tension and allow her to sleep. _I haven't done that in awhile. _She thought to herself, a wistful smile on her muzzle. _Then again it's been quite awhile since I've had any reason to, I'm surprised I held out this long. _Just as her eyelids began to close and her loins began to tell her to sink back into the covers and take a more pleasurable morning her alarm started going off again. "Kazo!" Krystal yelped. Grabbing the alarm clock Krystal shook it, smacked every button on it, and then set it roughly back onto the bedside stand. "Damn snooze button." She groused.

The mood broken she got out of bed. Reaching for her robe, a blue silk one that she had found with Katt, she wrapped herself up in it and went to check and see if her pink roommate had made it back last night. Stepping out into the hall she peaked into Katt's bedroom. The bed stood empty and the covers undisturbed. "Hmm. Seems one of us got the real thing last night. Lucky girl." Krystal smiled, it seemed Falco had behaved himself during his date with Katt. To be honest she hadn't been expecting that.

Heading out into the kitchen Krystal decided to make herself breakfast, she had to be at the Academy in two hours and it wouldn't do to try flying on an empty stomach. A buzz from the intercom interrupted her just as she set the kettle on for tea and began searching for the waffle mix. Walking over to it Krystal tapped the respond button. "Who is it?"

"Krystal? It's me Fara. Can I come up?"

"Sure." Krystal answered, wondering what Fara could possibly want this early in the morning. Krystal opened the door a crack before heading back to the kitchen to get the waffles going. As she began mixing the batter her thoughts drifted to what Katt must have gotten up to last night. She hadn't made it back which meant she had spent the night with Falco, the thought of which actually made Krystal a little jealous...of Falco. Even though Fox had been present in her thoughts last night Katt had been just as prominent, perhaps a bit more so when she thought about it. Krystal closed her eyes as she remembered some of the details of her mostly sleepless night, the phantom touch of Katt's barbed tongue, the feeling of Fox's imagined chest on her back, the...

"Hey? Anyone home?"

Krystal's eyes shot open and she let out a surprised yelp, almost losing hold of the bowl full of batter in her paws.

Fara stood just inside the doorway looking very amused and slightly proud of herself. "Wow. I must be really sneaky to be able to sneak up on a telepath."

Krystal's ears flushed and she concentrated on finishing up the batter. "I was...thinking."

Fara smiled and walked over to the other side of the kitchen counter. Leaning her elbows on the tile surface she smirked. "Good thoughts I think."

Ears tipping back Krystal simply nodded. The erotic tinge of her thoughts weren't what embarrassed her however, more the fact that those thoughts were of two very close friends that she saw almost every day. Of course that made sense, being in such close proximity to the man who had rescued her as well as the girl who had taken her in and made such good friends with her could really only lead one direction in the end. _The problem being they seem to diverge a bit. Or do they?_ Krystal thought to herself.

"Making waffles?" Fara asked, peering inside the mixing bowl, nose twitching.

"Yes." Krystal responded. "I actually mixed enough for two, I'm used to Katt being around. Would you like one?"

"Yes please, I didn't get much of a breakfast this morning." Fara answered, taking a seat on one of the counter stools. "Where is Katt by the way?"  
"She went out with Falco last night." Krystal explained, pouring the batter for the first waffle into the iron. "I think she stayed the night with him."

Fara's eyebrows quirked. "Oh really? Lucky girl."

Krystal closed the waffle iron. "That's what I said. First one will be done in a few minutes." The blue vixen paused, looking uncertain for a moment. "Fara, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Something the matter?" Fara asked, regarding Krystal with some concern.

Krystal realized her face likely looked like a study in confused concentration. Coming around to sit on one of the counter stools with Fara she said, "Can I trust you?"

"Of course." Fara answered immediately. "I'm not Fay."

Krystal snorted a bit at that. As much as she liked Fay, Krystal had quickly figured out that she was probably not the person to reveal deep inner secrets to. It wasn't so much that the spaniel gossiped maliciously, just that she couldn't keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it. Fara though, Fara seemed more the type to keep her lips sealed when it came to just about anything. "True."

"What is it Krystal?" Fara leaned towards her a bit, ears cupped forward.

"This might sound a bit strange but..." Krystal took a breath. "Have you ever been attracted to two people at the same time?"

Leaning back Fara smiled. "Is that all? Krystal, that happens to everyone."

"Truly?" Krystal asked, head cocked to one side. "I always thought it was something that happened one at a time."

Fara shook her head. "Definitely not. I've had times where I've been attracted to more people than I can wrap my ears around, and that's saying something." Fara wiggled her ears to make Krystal smile. Fara's ears really did seem extraordinarily large. Serious again Fara asked, "Who are they though? The people you're feeling attracted to? If you don't mind my asking."

Krystal noticed that her tail seemed to be making an effort to tuck between her legs, grabbing hold of it and stroking it she admitted, "Fox. I suppose that one should be obvious."

Fara nodded. "That's not surprising. About half the population of Lylat, male and female, is attracted to Fox McCloud."

"He is very handsome." Krystal agreed. "If somewhat bashful."

"Oh I know, it's annoying. Who else though?" Fara asked, leaning forward with interest again.

For just a moment Krystal thought she had gotten out of admitting to the second object of her...well lust would have been the most appropriate term for it at this point. "Uh...Katt." Krystal made a conscious effort to make certain her muzzle didn't tip down and that she looked Fara in the eyes. She had nothing to be ashamed of so she wouldn't act as if she did. For some reason though it felt just a bit embarrassing to admit being attracted to her roommate of the past few months.

Fara just stared for a moment and Krystal could sense her mind processing the information. A few seconds later though the fennec's temporarily blank visage was broken by a rapidly growing smile. Laughing a bit the fennec said, "Krystal! I had no idea Katt was your type."

"I can find women very attractive." Krystal replied without even a moment's hesitation.

"No no." Fara said, touching Krystal on the forearm. "It isn't that at all. Fennec knows I've had my girl crushes over the years. It's just...Katt?"

"What? What's wrong with her?" Krystal said defensively, though she could sense there was definitely something Fara wasn't telling her.

"Nothing. Nothing at all really." Fara insisted. "It's just...have you been to where she works?" Krystal shook her head. "Oh. You should go. If you're feeling conflicted over your attraction to her then that will probably convince you either to just be friends or that uh...well that you just have to have some of that."

Krystal cupped her ears forward, her curiosity piqued. "What is it that she does?"

"I don't want to spoil the surprise." Fara replied. "But trust me, just ask to go along with her to work someday, I'm sure she'd let you. She likes to show off."

Krystal smiled at that. Katt could be a bit of a show off sometimes, the girl really enjoyed being the center of attention . "That sounds good then." She looked over to the waffle iron. "Oh!" Jumping out of her seat Krystal quickly went around the counter to rescue the waffle before it burned to a crisp. Opening up the waffle iron she frowned. "It's a little singed around the edges. Do you want to wait for the next one?" Krystal asked, looking over at Fara.

"Nah that's fine." The fennec reassured her. "I don't mind 'em a little toasty."

"Right then." Krystal proceeded to take the waffle out of the iron and place it on a plate. She got butter and syrup out of the fridge and placed them on the counter next to Fara before handing the fennec the waffle laden plate. "Bon appetite."

"Merci." Fara replied with a smile. "Have you been learning French and not telling me?"

"Katt taught me a thing or two. She seems very good with languages." Krystal explained, remembering at the last minute that Fara still needed a fork and knife, she handed the utensils over. "How's the waffle?"

Fara took a bite of the waffle and hummed in satisfaction. "Little crunchy, but still very yummy. I suppose you're wondering why I'm here though."  
"I was wondering yes. Not that I don't enjoy your company." Krystal added, pouring the batter for her waffle into the iron.

"Well Fox said you've been doing well with your flying, but he wants to try something a little different." Fara explained, taking another bite of her waffle.

"What did he have in mind?" Krystal asked, expression curious.

"Team battle." Fara answered, her tail swaying. "You and me against him and Falco."

Krystal opened the waffle iron and proceeded to prepare her breakfast. "It hardly seems fair, what with me being so new at this."

"Have faith Krystal." Fara grinned. "We girls are better pilots than they think."

"Fine then." Krystal came around the counter with her waffle. "We'll wipe the floors with them." The blue vixen vowed, a predatory gleam in her eye.

* * *

Katt closed the apartment door behind her and briefly leaned her back against it. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and thought about the night before, and the wakeup she had gotten in the morning. "Little man." Katt shook her head, he hated that name, if only because despite being a sarcastic ass himself Falco had no understanding of ironic nicknames.

Walking into the living room Katt tossed her purse on the couch and sniffed the air. Krystal's usual vixen musk permeated the atmosphere, something the pink feline had gotten used to since having the vixen for a roommate, but another scent swirled around the air with it. Fara. She must have come by to pick up Krystal, nothing to worry about there.

Her nose also informed her that the scent of sex still hung somewhat heavy around her, courtesy of her and Falco's rather intense wakeup call. "Shower." Katt decided, making her way across the living room to her bedroom down the hall. She stopped as her nose twitched again when she passed by Krystal's bedroom. Leaning her head into the room Katt breathed in through her nose and smirked. "Krystal. Naughty vixen. I wonder..." Katt stood looking into the room for a moment, her mind working. "That might be it. Hmmm." Shaking her head to clear her mind Katt continued on to her bedroom. Even if what she thought turned out to be true it didn't change the fundamental truth, they were both attracted to each other, and neither one had exactly been keeping that a secret from the other the past months.

Walking up to her dresser Katt turned on her music player and selected an electro swing playlist. A smile broke across her muzzle as the sound of big band combined with a purposefully random assortment of modern techniques filled the room. Moving to the music she happily stripped off her dress and underwear, tossed them in the general direction of her closet hamper, and then proceeded to dance and shake her way into the bathroom. She waited a moment after turning on the shower for the water to warm up and then stepped in, giving a happy cackle at the feeling of the warm water soaking into her pink fur, forming rivulets that traveled down her supple body. Sometimes Katt wondered if she had a bit of tiger in her, most felines other than the striped big cats hated water, she loved it though.

Katt began her cleaning with her hair, lathering it up with a combination of shampoo and conditioner, and trying not to get any in her eyes. After she had rinsed it she moved on to selecting an appropriate fur shampoo and conditioner to go along with it. Tapping her muzzle with a finger she considered her choices, lavender, almond, or a touch of cinnamon scented. "Better choose lavender, the cinnamon makes Krystal sneeze." A smile touched her lips at the memory, Krystal had sneezed so much that Katt had finally been forced to relent and go shower again. "Poor girl." Rubbing her paws together to make a thick lather of suds Katt began running her paws down her body, beginning at her neck, rubbing the soap into her fur gently. Her paws ran down her arms, and, upon running out of bubbles, she reached again for the soap bottle. Her chest and stomach came next, and after returning to the soap bottle one last time, her legs. Then she rinsed fully, repeated the process, rinsed again, and then turned the water off and stepped out.

Reaching for one of the pink towels that she kept in a stack by the shower Katt began to dry herself off. The bathroom being thick with steam Katt moved out into the bedroom where it would be easier to finish drying. The music continued to play as she rubbed most of the water out of her fur. She paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she cared enough about her appearance today to go back and use the hair dryer to finish up. Just as she was about to return for the hairdryer a buzz sounded from the living room.

Wrapping the towel around herself Katt made her way back out into the living room and tapped the respond button on the intercom. "Who is it?"

"It's Fay, can I come up?"

"Sure. I just got out of the shower but go ahead."

"Be decent."

Katt snorted. "Don't worry."

Opening the door just a bit Katt bounded back into her bedroom to find something to wear in the perhaps two minutes she had before Fay made it up to her floor. "Uhhhh." Clothes were not something Katt made easy snap decisions with. Underwear would probably be a good first step, but she didn't want to wear a bra, well panties were still a good first step.

"Katt?"

"Shit." The pink feline quickly slipped on the pair of underwear she had grabbed from the closet. "In the bedroom and..."

Turning around to go and shut the door Katt stopped mid step. Fay stood in the doorway, all five feet and ninety pounds of her, in full police uniform, idly swinging her handcuffs. "Well, this is a new definition of decent." The spaniel observed, eyes flicking over Katt's still mostly nude body.

One paw on her hip Katt replied, "You gave me even less time than I thought you would. Do you want to turn around or would you like me to give you a show? Either one is fine."

Fay rolled her eyes and turned around. "Just tell me when you're done."

Katt went back to her closet and grabbed the first shirt and pair of shorts she could find. As she put them on she glanced in the spaniel's direction, Fay definitely appeared to be on duty. The uniform was, of course, a clue, but there were other things. The way the spaniel stood a little straighter, the way her tail stood arched rather than it's near constant state of swaying, and of course the fact that walking in on her still getting dressed had elicited a snarky remark and brief look over rather than a fit of giggles from Fay. "Decent." Fay turned around and smiled at her. Pointing to handcuffs Katt asked, "So, is there a problem officer?"

"What?" Fay looked at the paw that Katt's finger was pointing at. "Oops. Sorry I do that sometimes." Fay replaced the handcuffs on her belt before continuing,

"Actually I'm here with good news, has to do with last night."

"You weren't with me last night." Katt thought to mention.

"No, but Falco assaulted someone last night, and I am a cop." The spaniel tapped her badge.

"I hear about those sorts of things. Especially when it concerns friends."

Katt's tail fuzzed against her will and her ears flushed. "Oh."

"Don't get all fuzzy." Fay reassured her, trying not to let a giggle ruin her on duty seriousness. "Neither of you are in trouble, the manager of the club has convinced the bouncer not to press chargers, assuming you and Falco don't press any."

"For what? Harassment?" Katt asked, the thought hadn't actually crossed her mind until Fay brought it up.

"Yep." Fay confirmed.

Katt shrugged. "If he won't I won't. Is that why you came up here? To tell me that?"

"Pretty much. It was on my patrol route today so I figured I'd stop in and let you know. Did you have fun on your date last night?"

"Oh yes." Katt smiled. "I had a wonderful time."

Fay smiled back, tail wagging for the first time since her arrival. "I'm glad. You can tell me all about it later. For now I better get back out there, you know we need every cop on the street what with Corneria City's crime rate."

"Yeah what was it last month?" Katt asked, already knowing the answer as she followed the spaniel to the apartment door.

"Just a hair above non-existent." Fay sighed. "This whole near-utopian society is going to put me out a job some day. Well, see you later!" Fay gave Katt a quick hug before walking out and closing the door behind her.

With Fay gone Katt glanced at the clock in the kitchen, Krystal wouldn't be home for awhile yet, which meant the pink feline had to find something to do to occupy herself until her roommate got home. Being feline the decision proved a no brainer, walking back to the bedroom she flopped down on the bed and decided that before doing anything else today a nap was in order.

* * *

"...can't do that sort of thing Falco."

Krystal stopped just outside the door to Fox's office at the Academy, ears perking to listen in on the conversation, telepathic senses getting a read on the mood.

"What was I supposed to do? Just stand there?"

Still outside the door Krystal cocked her head, this sounded interesting.

"I'd just rather a member of my team didn't go around punching people when he's on a date. Besides, you've called her far worse in the past."

Deciding that now might be a good time to interrupt before Falco said something Krystal knew he'd regret the blue vixen knocked gently on the half open door. "You wanted to see me Fox?"

Fox's ears perked up and he looked over at her. She noticed his ears turn a bit red as his nose twitched. Odd. "Um yes. Yeah I wanted to see you for uh...Falco?"

The avian, arms crossed and beak doing its best to curl into a smirk, looked from Krystal to Fox. "What?"

"I'm done talking with you. For now. So you can go." Fox answered as he sat down, voice much firmer when dealing with his misbehaving ace pilot. "I'll see you in the simulators."

"Want me to pair up with Krystal instead? Give you a chance to shoot at me?" Falco actually appeared to be offering the suggestion earnestly, Krystal suspected the two usually blew off steam by competing with each other.

"Nah. I'd rather Krystal fly with Fara today." Fox said, looking at Krystal as he mentioned her name. "Assuming that's fine with you?"

"Of course." Krystal replied. "I was planning on it."

Falco shrugged and left the room, shutting the door behind him. The increased privacy seemed to make Fox even more uncomfortable. "So, uh, Krystal, I guess you're wondering why you're here?"

"Yes I am. Nothing bad I hope." Krystal advanced a few steps into the room, coming closer to Fox's desk.

"No no. Nothing bad, no." Fox stammered, looking almost as if he were trying to hide something, or restrain himself from doing something as he sat.

Krystal quirked an eyebrow. She had never seen Fox looking this uncomfortable in her presence, and that was saying something. "Fox? Is everything all right? I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"

Fox shook his head, blushing even more. "No it's just uh...Never mind. I wanted to tell you that Miyu is here for your last medical exam."

"Oh. Where is she?"

"Same room as last time. Once your, uh, done you can head on down to the simulators and we'll get started for the day." Fox informed her, shifting in his chair behind the desk.

"All right. I'll see you there." Krystal turned around and opened the door, smiling as she sensed the first thought to pierce the fog of awkwardness surrounding Fox's mood. _Down Foxie!_ She thought to herself, ah well, good to know he did have those sorts of thoughts about people.

Stepping into the elevator at the end of the hall Krystal hit the button for the seventh floor and waited as the car kicked into motion. She thought for a moment about Fox's behavior in his office, had his nose twitched when he first caught sight of her? Yes it had. Breathing in the air around her Krystal's eyes widened. _Oh gods, this better not be a sign of what I think it is. _The change in her musk would have been undetectable to anyone except another vulpine, even a lupine might not be able to distinguish it from the usual strong fox scent, and Fara hadn't seemed to notice, but to Krystal it was unmistakable.

The doors opened and Krystal stepped out, ears partially down. It would be a few days yet before it actually occurred and became generally noticeable, but now that she had noticed she couldn't help but feel a bit...embarrassed. She would need to ask for some time off in the next couple of days.

Her thoughts remained occupied as she stepped into Miyu's small office. The lynx smiled at her and said, "Welcome to my humble temporary abode. My place at Corneria Medical is much bigger."

Krystal managed to muster a smile as she said, "Thanks for making house calls."

Miyu waved a hand in dismissal. "I owe Fox a favor or two, and besides, I'm billing the Academy anyway. Now, off to the examination room."

The blue vixen followed Miyu into the more private setting of the examination room. "No shots today right?" Krystal asked, trying not to shutter at the repertoire of needle administered immunizations she had been getting over the past few weeks.

Miyu chuckled. "Nah. I'm done playing pin cushion with you. I just need to check a few things, take a scan, and then get a scent sample for your Cornerian ID. Oh, and I need you to disrobe for the checking part. You can keep your underwear on though."

Krystal nodded as the door shut behind her. As the vixen peeled off her flight suit Miyu moved over to the sink, scrubbed her paws thoroughly, then pulled on a pair of gloves from the dispenser. "Are you ticklish?" Miyu asked, coming up behind her.

"A little, but not much." Krystal answered, she shivered a bit at the feeling of the gloved hands pressing on her back and sides. Miyu felt around for a few moments before coming around to Krystal's front.

"Actually I am going to need you to take your bra off." Miyu said apologetically. "Sorry." "Why?" Krystal asked, already unclasping the garment.

"I have to check for breast cancer. Pesky little genetic disease we still haven't quite managed to eradicate. Is that all right? If not you can do it yourself." Miyu asked, her expression caring.

Bare breasted Krystal gave the lynx a reassuring smile. "I trust you not to try and fool around. Go ahead."

Miyu's gloved paws felt the vixen's chest, and the lynx explained she was checking for any strange lumps. Krystal thanked the gods that Miyu did all of this with an air of professionalism that dispelled any thoughts of making the examination uncomfortable. A couple of moments later the vixen replaced the bra. Miyu held up a finger though as the vixen reached for her flight suit. "Before you put that back on we should get your scent sample."

"Oh right." Krystal took the small scent-swab from Miyu. "How long and where?"

"For canids under the tail, and about five seconds should do it."

Nodding Krystal placed the swab underneath the base of her tail, held it, and then returned it to Miyu who placed it in a small plastic bag. "Now can I put my clothes back on?"

"Sure." Miyu replied, pulling her medical scanner out of her lab coat pocket. "And go ahead and sit on the exam table."

Zipping up her flight suit again Krystal hopped onto the table. Miyu ran the scanner over her in several long sweeps starting at her ears and gradually working their way down. "If that can tell you so much why do you still have to feel around for growths?" Krystal inquired, eyes curious.

"Oh lots of reasons." Miyu explained. "The main one being you should never completely trust technology. It breaks, it gives false readings, so you can't always count on it. Whereas I can always count on my hands to tell me if there's something growing where it shouldn't be. Make sense?"

"Mmhmm." Krystal replied.

"All right all done." Miyu said, replacing her scanner. "Anything you want to ask me?"

Krystal thought for a moment, she couldn't think of anything medical, but there was something she wanted to ask someone. "It's not medical."

Miyu shrugged. "Go ahead, I don't have anything pressing. What is it?"

"Well," Krystal began. "I was planning on visiting Katt at work one of these nights."

Miyu's eyes widened and she pulled her scanner back out. "You sure it isn't medical?"

Krystal regarded the lynx for a moment, trying to determine whether or not her friend was joking. The lynx answered her question when her straight face curved into an amused smile. "I thought you were joking." Krystal said. "Seriously though I am. Fara won't tell me exactly what it is she does, and I really want to know. But..."

"You want someone to come along just in case you need backup." Miyu surmised. Krystal nodded, her ears giving a nervous twitch. "Relax I'll go. And we can bring Fay too, no better back up for a night out than a cop. Do you know when she works next?"

Krystal thought for a moment, trying to recollect the dates Katt had said she would be home late. "This Saturday I think."

"Good, I should be free that night, and Fay should be too. See you then?"

Krystal hopped off of the examination table and gave Miyu a smile and hug. "Sure will. Do you want to let Fay know?"

"Yeah I'll do it, I'm having dinner with her tonight." Miyu answered, opening the door for Krystal.

"All right then. I better get down to the simulators, Fox and the rest will be waiting for me."

"Tell Fox I said hi, after you wipe him out that is." Miyu said, winking at Krystal.

"I'll remember, see you Saturday!" Krystal waved as she made her way back to the elevator and pressed the button for the simulator room. She found herself smiling on the way down, with this last medical exam done she was that much closer to not only becoming a member of Star Fox, but gaining Lylatian citizenship as well. One more step in making a new home for herself in Lylat.

Home. Krystal felt a slight flutter at the thought of that word. She had come to terms with losing her homeworld long ago, but she still missed it. The white beaches, the tropical forests, and of course her friends and family. They were gone now though, and Krystal knew there was no point in dwelling on the past, she was young, the future was of far greater concern than the past.

The doors slid open and Krystal stepped out onto one of the Academy simulator rooms. There were five such rooms, one in every training building. Large, pristine, and filled with rows of white, pod-like flight simulators, Krystal had become intimately familiar with them over the past three months as she trained first to get her Arwing qualification, and now to be on the Star Fox team. Krystal felt she had made some good progress in the time she had been flying, but she knew she was still far off from being ready to fly in actual combat, whether Fox considered her a natural or not.

Glancing around the room Krystal spotted Fara standing next to a bank of four simulators, two pods opposite of two other pods. The fennec waved to her and Krystal walked to join her. She made her way past a pair of vulpine cadets and tried not to blush as she noticed their noses twitching in much the same fashion that Fox's had. _I really am going to need that time off soon. _

Sidling up to the smaller fennec Krystal looked around to see if she could find Fox or Falco. "Are they running late?"

"Oh they'll be back in a minute, Fox is just having another talk with Falco." Fara pointed over to where the two male pilots stood conversing, Fox waving his arms in irritation and Falco looking like he would say anything to stop the conversation and get into the simulators.

"What's eating Fox?" Krystal asked. "He was yelling at Falco earlier too."

Fara swiveled her ears in Fox's direction. "Oh he's just telling Falco how lucky he is the bouncer and club manager aren't pressing charges. And how embarrassing that would be for the team if they were."

"What does that mean? What did Falco do?" Krystal wished her ears were as good as Fara's. To be fair her ears could hear a vole tunneling under seven feet of snow, but Fara's ears were good enough that she could do the same thing with a desert mouse under eight feet of sand and still keep track of a conversation.

"He punched some guy who insulted Katt on their date last night, at least that's what I've been overhearing." Fara explained, letting one ear focus on Krystal while the other continued facing in the direction of Fox's conversation.

"Have you been eavesdropping Fara?" Krystal asked, tail twitching.

"People forget I have these two big hyperbolic dishes for ears." Fara replied, bringing her other ear around. "I can listen to any conversation I want so long as it's happening within, say, fifty or sixty feet. And Fox is yelling which makes it much easier."

Krystal just shook her head. "And I thought regular vulpine hearing was impressive."

Fara's ears wiggled. "We desert dwellers always have our ears out. Hey, did those two cadets you were walking by on the way over bother you?"

"No. Why?" Krystal glanced behind her, trying to find the two vulpines she had passed.

"They were giving you more than a few backwards glances." Fara put her paws on her hips, clearly bothered by the behavior. Krystal just leaned closer to Fara and whispered in one of her oversized ears. The fennec's eyes widened and she sniffed the air. "Oh. Oooh. I'm surprised I didn't notice."  
Krystal sighed. "I didn't either until just a little while ago. I'm going to ask for some time off soon."

"Did Fox notice?"

"Did I notice what?" Fox asked, walking up behind Fara.

The fennec turned around. "It's nothing. You done yelling at Falco over defending Katt's honor?"

Fox rolled his eyes. "Yes. And I assume you heard every word."

Fara chuckled and gave her ears a theatrical swivel. "Don't worry, I can keep a secret. Are you two ready for the ass kicking of the century?"

Pointing a wing at Fara, Falco guffawed. "The day either of you can take me down is the day I throw out my piloting license."

Krystal let her gaze settle on Fox as she asked, "Does that go for you too?"

Fox gave her a look of pure confidence, the one he always had when it came to piloting, but this time it came with a subtle hint of...desire? _Oh gods, he really is picking up on it. _"We'll see. Want to settle this?"

Krystal crossed her arms and stuck her chin out defiantly. "What are the rules?"

Fox thought for a moment before declaring, "Four rounds, rounds are won through elimination of the entire hostile team, and one more round if we need a tie breaker. Sound good?"

Fara grinned, tail swaying behind her. "Sounds perfect. Any moves off limits?"

Fox shook his head, his own tail starting to wag slowly in anticipation. "No, feel free to play dirty."

Krystal tried not to blush when she noticed him looking at her as he said the last word. Fara must have noticed it as well when she said, after a brief moment of blue vixen and orange tod staring at each other, "Well then, what are we standing around for?"

The spell broken Krystal nodded and placed her paw on her simulator's scanner. The pod bisected itself to allow her to step in, its controls adapting to the Arwing specifications that were being fed into it by Fox at the simulator bank's control console. When Fox stepped into his pod the two sections snapped back together on his and everyone else's, and a holographic environment appeared around Krystal.

Finding herself in an Arwing inside of a grey metal hangar bay she glanced to her right to see Fara in an identical ship next to her. A bland, simulated female voice gave a five second countdown and then, almost without inertia, Krystal and Fara's Arwings launched into space. Checking her HUD Krystal noted that they were no more than a few thousand kilometers distant from a large, X shaped nebula. Debris from what had once been a large space station filled the void around her, and Krystal found herself making constant minute course adjustments to avoid her fighter being peppered to death by debris clouds. "All of this debris is going to make maneuvering difficult." Krystal said into her team com line.

Fara's image materialized on the communications panel, nodding the fennec said, "For all of us, odds are still even."

Dodging what appeared to be a sparking, mangled, severed arm, Krystal began scanning for her two opponents. "Where..." Her question was answered before she could finish, green laser fire flew past her starboard wing, close enough that were it a real Arwing it would have ruined the paint job. "Kazo!" Ignoring the instinct to look behind her, unassisted visual scanning in the middle of outer space had a tendency to be useless, Krystal focused all of her scanners aft. "One Arwing on my tail, and that's Fox if I was to have my guess."

"Want me to clean him off?" Fara asked, her fighter already angling in behind Krystal's pursuer.

_Feel free to fight dirty._ Krystal smiled a bit at Fox's words, if he wanted her to fight dirty she certainly would. "Don't worry, I've got this."

"Your call. I'll take the bird." Fara answered, peeling off to look for Falco.

_I hope I'm as good as I think I am. _Krystal thought to herself, muttering one of the intonations for luck she knew from her childhood. A beeping noise sounded from her console, the Arwing behind her had target lock. "Perfect." The blue vixen muttered. "Computer, prepare for emergency engine shut down."

"Emergency shutdown procedure online, say when ready." The computer informed her in its bland female voice.

Now she just needed one thing more, and this time she needed it from Fox. "Come on, you have a lock. Shoot me." Krystal muttered impatiently.

Fox must have heard her when, as soon as the words left her muzzle, several packets of hard green light erupted from her pursuer. Krystal dodged two of them, but her trajectory carried her neatly into the third. Just as the impact registered Krystal said, "Computer, shutdown main engines."

Krystal's acceleration stalled immediately as the main plasma engine for her fighter sputtered out. Her inertia kept her going on her previous course, which she did her best to subtly adjust using her maneuvering thrusters, she didn't need much, assuming Fox did the logical thing and dodged the debris cloud she had been speeding towards. Krystal came to the sudden realization that her plan had one glaring hole in it, she was relying on Fox to make a mistake. Too late to change tactics now though, she hoped she knew Fox as well as she thought. "Come on come on." She breathed, paws tightening on the trigger.  
Fox's Arwing shot passed her, and Krystal thanked all of her native gods that he had done a straight shot through her previous position, presuming her to be completely disabled. As he neared the debris cloud he moved his Arwing up and over, perfect. Her muzzle cracked into a predatory grin as she fired her weapons and..."Ha! Gotcha you cocky bastard!" Krystal yelled into the com as her laser fire sheared off one of Fox's wings. "Computer restore main engine."  
"Main engine restored."

Krystal pushed the throttle to full, gaining ground on Fox's limping fighter. The HUD indicated she still had a firm target lock, grin never fading she squeezed the trigger and held it down. Red light began to pool at the nose of her Arwing, as soon as it reached critical mass Krystal released the trigger and the ball of coruscating hard light flew towards Fox's damaged fighter. Fox, to his credit, immediately went evasive, but his missing wing meant that close to half his maneuvering thrusters were gone, and Krystal was already making sure to spew smaller bolts of laser fire all around him. The charge shot impacted a few seconds later and Fox's starfighter disappeared in a dazzling display of white light and purple plasma. "Yes!"

Fara's face popped back up on the com screen, a smile on her face. "Nice one, he must have thought you were disabled."

"Yep." Krystal replied, feeling quite proud of herself. "If I'd just braked to get behind him he would have peeled off before I could fire, this way he thought he didn't have to."

"Risky though." Fara said. "And that was a hell of tricky shot. Now watch this..."

Krystal angled her Arwing towards Fara's position and called up a sensor image of her teammates combat zone. A moment later the hologram flashed a bright white as another Arwing went up, and Fara called out, "To the trash with that license you fucking pheasant!"

"Language Fara." Krystal said, shaking her head. The holographic space environment disappeared as the voice of the computer announced Krystal and Fara as round one winners. The pod opened to allow each of them a moments breather as the next simulation loaded. Standing up and peering over towards Fox's pod the blue vixen called out, "Dirty enough for you?"

Fox shook his head, ears down and blushing he never the less managed a comeback. "You want dirty? I'll show you dirty."

This time Krystal felt herself blush, but her tail wagged, at least in matters of piloting Fox could be a bit flirtatious without trying to apologize right afterwards. Though Krystal had a feeling that the subtle change in her scent might also have something to do with Fox's change in behavior.

"Hey Fara!" Falco yelled at the fennec. "Check this!" He stuck his middle feather up in a gesture that Katt had explained once to be both lewd and insulting at the same time.

Krystal couldn't help but laugh as Fara stuck both her middle fingers up at the falcon in response.

"Round two initiating." The computer interrupted before the post round taunting could become truly vicious.

At the sound of the computer's voice Krystal and the rest sat back down in their pods, the two halves closed in around them, and the next environment enveloped them. Krystal's mind switched into battle mode, all other thoughts banished. Fox and Falco were no doubt embarrassed by their performance, and it would take everything the two vixens had to come out on top again. Smiling a bit Krystal said into the com, "Ready for another go Fara?"

"Bring it on." Fara answered, their Arwings bursting out of yet another grey metal hangar and into space. Time to see if she could fly circles around Fox for a second time.


	7. Chapter 7 Wild Animal and Epilogue

A/N: I'll say a few more words at the end but for now here's the final chapter. There is a relatively explicit sex scene contained within, if you don't like that sort of thing you can always just skip it, please don't complain about its presence though. Also, The Wild Animal club where Katt works is entirely a construct of my own diseased imagination and has no real world counterpart that I am aware of, that being said I am completely aware of how unrealistic it is. I figure though in a world with dog people...anything. All right, go ahead and read, and I'll talk your ears off more at the end because I'm sadistic like that.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Wild Animal

Step. Step. Step. Hips swaying all the way. Extend the arms, keep hold of the gossamer shroud, chest out. Cover breasts with the shroud, fall back, let the twins take center stage.

Katt and her two companions, a pair of orange furred vixen twins, had been practicing every step of this dance for more than a month. Katt had spent twice as long agonizing over every step as she came up with it for this month's Exotic night. The unique challenge of coming up with dances to use where she worked was, of course, the fact that the stage occupied the center of the room, rather than the back. Thus she and her fellow dancers would be being watched from all angles, and Katt needed to make sure that every angle got an interesting view or motion. The small section they were running through in Katt's changing room wasn't all that difficult, but tonight Katt really wanted things to go well. After all, Krystal would be in the audience. Miyu and Fay were with her as well, but that didn't worry Katt. Fay and Miyu came around to keep an eye on her every now and again anyway, they had seen her dance before, and in far more crude styles than what she and the twins, Champers and Vixis, would be doing tonight.

"Katt, I think we've got it." Champers said, patting the pink feline on her exposed back.

Katt nodded. "Yeah. Yeah we do. I just don't want anything going wrong tonight."

Champers cocked her head in that uniquely canine fashion. "We haven't messed up a routine in more than a year. I think we'll be fine. What's got you all nervous?"

Tail wrapping around one of her legs Katt sighed. "It's just someone is out in the audience that I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of."  
That got the attention of Vixis. "Oh? Anyone we know?"

"No." Katt responded. "Girl who's been rooming with me the past few months. Blue vixen."

"I didn't know we vixens came in blue." Champers said, ears perking in curiosity.

Katt smiled a bit and stretched her back, making certain that there were no tense spots that might interfere with the more flexibility reliant moves. "She's not from around here."

"Not from Corneria City?" Vixis asked, going through her own series of pre-show stretches.

"Not from Lylat." Katt answered, feeling smug as both girls looked at her in wide eyed wonder. "What?"

"You have a girlfriend from out-system? Where vixens are blue?" Champers actually looked envious, but then the poor girl had just broken up with her last girlfriend.

"We aren't dating." Katt clarified. "Just friends."

Vixis snorted. "Just friends. Katt, we all know that's just your way of saying you're still working on her."

Frowning Katt replied, "Am I that transparent?"

The twins both laughed and said, "Yes," in unison.

"Well maybe this dance will do something to help things along then." Katt stated, letting a feeling of anticipation replace the anxiety she felt. If things went well tonight maybe she and Krystal...No, best not to think about that, too distracting, and if Katt wanted tonight to go off without a hitch the last thing she needed were anymore distractions than she usually found out there on stage.

The door to Katt's changing room opened and a female cougar stuck her head in. "You ladies ready?"

Katt gave the cougar her most confident smile as she said, "We're ready whenever you need us Stacy. Just give the word."

The cougar, Stacy, nodded. "Good, then get out there, you're our opening for Exotic night. I hope that dance you came up with ends up being half as good as it was when you pitched it to me."

Opening the door all the way and striding past Stacy, a bounce in her step, Katt smiled. "Oh we've been practicing, I bet we'll end up stealing the show."

Vixis and Champers followed her out, all three girls strutting confidently down the hall. Katt's nervousness evaporated as they neared the stage, she loved her job, she got to show off, and she got paid to do it. Not to mention the more she showed off the more she got paid. And no one got hurt. Katt found that she felt infinitely less guilty about showing off her chest to make money than she did about killing people for a paycheck, in fact she didn't feel guilty at all.

Flinging the doors open from the backstage area Katt, Champers, and Vixis walked across the floor and onto the stage, gossamer shrouds fluttering behind them, to the cheers and applause of the large, mixed gender and species audience. Katt scanned the crowd and located Krystal, Fay, and Miyu at a booth towards the back. The three girls waved at her and Katt smiled, good, they could see her clear enough. Then the main lights dimmed and the spotlights, programmed tonight for a soft orange hue, came on, focusing on each of the three girls on stage. The music started and Katt and the twins burst into motion for the first part of their dance.

* * *

"Krystal? We're here."

Krystal pressed the respond button for the intercom and said, "Super. I'll be right down." Opening the front door Krystal stepped out, closed it and activated the lock, then made her way to the elevator. When it arrived she stepped in and hit the button for the ground floor. Half sitting half leaning on the rear handhold the blue vixen breathed in her scent for the fiftieth time that day. She could smell the change, stronger now. "Damn." She whispered. It didn't seem strong enough to be too readily noticeable, but, assuming things happened as they had last year, tonight may not have been the best night to go out and see Katt. "Too late now, I just hope it doesn't flare up while we're there."

The lift doors opened and Krystal stepped out. Scanning the lobby she spotted Miyu and Fay near the doors, Krystal waved and walked to join them. "Do you know the club Miyu?"

The lynx blushed a bit. "Yeah. Little better than I probably should. Come on."

Krystal followed the lynx out to where her car sat by the curb. Fay, looking bouncy as ever, trailed behind as she said, "Oh Miyu, there's nothing to be ashamed about going to watch girls and boys dance."

Unlocking her car Miyu opened the passenger side door for Krystal. Looking over at Fay she said, "I'm not ashamed since I agree there's nothing wrong with it. Still...if it weren't for Katt I wouldn't go. Your car seat is in back by the way."

Fay stuck her tongue out at the lynx's joke about her size and slipped into the back seat. Miyu sat down behind the wheel and keyed the ignition. Krystal looked at the lynx and asked, "Dancing? What sort?"

"The topless kind." Miyu replied, pulling out onto the street.

Krystal's ears tipped back and she felt her cheeks and ears flush. "Oh."

Fay leaned forward as far as she could to look at Krystal. "Is that all right?"

"Yes it's fine." Krystal answered, ears ticking back up and blush disappearing. "On Cerinia we danced quite a lot. I was actually quite good at it. The erotic sort wasn't all that uncommon for a variety of occasions, especially mating rituals and fertility rites."

Miyu glanced at her. "Did you ever..."

Krystal shook her head. "None of the very provocative stuff, I was always reasonably covered. I wasn't considered old enough for that sort of thing to be appropriate. Though if I hadn't lost my world I probably would have gone on to be quite the dancer." Krystal sighed as the memories of dancing in her youth came flooding back. The sound of the drums, the precision of the motions, the hot, panting feeling she always felt after a long routine. The way everyone's attention focused on her, always on her. The way it made her feel so sure of herself as she sensed the spectators appreciation. Such a huge part of her life, gone. She missed it.

"And quite the provocateur?" Fay asked, a smile on her muzzle, though her tone indicated she sensed the memories were somewhat bittersweet for the vixen.

Krystal smiled softly. Would she have? Certainly her mother would have approved, she had met Krystal's father during the Dance of Life's Desire, one of the most heated of fertility dances performed by the priestesses of her tribe. Krystal had been born only a year later. "Maybe. My mother always enjoyed performing the more sensual and provocative dances, but then I inherited more shyness from my father."

"You? Shy?" Miyu quirked an eyebrow. "To be honest that's not a word I would have used to describe you in most cases. I mean you didn't hesitate to meet all of us." Miyu flicked on her turn signal.

"No, I didn't." Krystal smiled, feeling proud of herself. "I've tried to be less shy about meeting people since Fox rescued me. I suppose I just feel more at home now, and less the wanderer."

Fay cocked her head. "How long were you on your own?"

"About a year and half before I ended up on Sauria. I was seventeen when I lost my world." Krystal stated it matter-of-factly, the time for grief on account of her lost world had passed since coming here, and she didn't want it coming back.

"Any interesting adventures while you were out there?" Miyu asked, stopping at an intersection.

Krystal flicked her ears, remembering all the close calls and near lethal situations she had gotten into over that time. "One or two." She said, deciding to be coy. "There's probably a story in it somewhere actually."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Miyu answered. "In fact I can see it now, _The Adventures of Krystal_. Tales of danger, mystery, and possibly romance."

Krystal snorted. The romance she had been faced with during her time alone had been laughable, or potentially violent. "The only romance I got in that time was an unending series of lewd propositions."

Fay giggled, covering her mouth with a paw. "Oh gosh. Sailors huh?"

"Freighter pilots." Krystal corrected. "Actually a few of them ended up with bloody noses for their trouble. Hence why I never stayed long in any one place."

"Sounds exciting." Miyu replied. "Now I just need to find a place to park and we can be on our way inside."

"Is there a theme tonight?" Fay asked, floppy ears attempting to perk with excitement.

Pulling into a parking lot about a block away from their destination Miyu nodded. "It's Exotic night. Apparently this is more about sensual and less about lewd and crude, gives the dancers a chance to do something a bit more fancy. Not a bad bit of luck for your first time Krystal."

Krystal raised her eyebrows. "And what makes you think I couldn't handle lewd and crude?" _Though to be fair right now I probably couldn't. _

"You're very innocent according to what I've heard." Fay said, unbuckling her seatbelt as Miyu parked in the first available spot she could find.

Unbuckling her own seatbelt Krystal looked behind her at the spaniel. "Who told you that? Fox?" The spaniel nodded. Krystal shook her head. "I lost my innocence and naiveté when I lost my world and spent more than a year wandering the less reputable parts of the galactic arm. Trust me, I've seen it all."

The three girls began to make their way towards the club where Katt worked. Miyu gave the vixen a curious look. "What do you mean?"

Krystal gave her tail a flick. "I've seen death, I've felt death. I've seen pain, I've felt pain. I've seen abuse, and I've narrowly escaped it myself more than once. And I've had to walk away from people who are suffering just to survive, and I've felt the guilt that comes with that. I've even had to kill, more than once. Innocent is not a word I would use to describe myself." Krystal noticed Miyu and Fay give each other a glance. Krystal realized she had likely just appeared somewhat...darker than usual. "Sorry girls. I didn't mean to throw a damper on things."

Fay smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, nothing throws a damper on things when I'm around." Looking ahead the spaniel frowned. "Except maybe that line."

Miyu's eyes widened as she caught sight of the line stretching down the street. "Jeez. Exotic night must be popular."

Krystal observed the line for a moment. The line was a huge mix of species, and an almost even mix of male and female. Age wise the crowd looked relatively young, though Krystal guessed that most were at least a year or two older than her. "If we wait will we miss Katt's performance?"

Miyu pulled out her perso-com to check the time. "Probably."

"Then follow me." Krystal said, motioning for the two to walk next to her. Krystal sidestepped the line and walked straight to where she saw the bouncer, a large tiger who's frame looked about ready to burst from his suit. "Hi, I'm Krystal. Katt Monroe said to let me and my friends right in."  
The tiger quirked an eyebrow at her and reached for the small datapad at his side. Checking through what Krystal presumed was likely a short a list of special orders he regarded her for a moment. "Yep, you're blue. You and your friends can go right in." The tiger stepped aside.

Krystal walked in, not pausing to see the miffed to outraged expressions on everyone else waiting in line. Having connections really could pay off at times. Fay and Miyu were both smiling. "Gosh, Katt must really like you Krystal, she's never done that for me." Miyu pointed out.

"Benefits of being her roommate I guess." Krystal shrugged as she looked around. The Wild Animal appeared a bit different than she had originally envisioned it. The floor they were on appeared to be for those who really just wanted to dance the night away themselves rather than watch someone else do it. A massive dance floor dominated the room, with flashing lights, thumping music, and a huge, gyrating mass of dancers. Krystal felt tempted to just wade onto the dance floor, she was already having trouble not moving to the music. "Wow. Listen to that beat." She found herself yelling to be heard over the noise.

Miyu pointed to a glass spiral staircase. "Katt and the performers are upstairs! Come on, the schedule on their website says she's on in a few minutes."

Krystal and Fay followed the lynx to the stairs, as they ascended the noise became a bit more subdued. Fay said, "I didn't realize they had a website."  
Miyu glanced backwards at the spaniel. "Everyone has a website. The convenience store on the corner next to your apartment even has one."

"That's right! I get coupons from them." Fay exclaimed, looking very proud of her coupon acquiring acumen.

"Right." Miyu said, rolling her eyes in a way that told Krystal she had heard all about Fay's coupons on more than one occasion.

Reaching the second floor Krystal looked around. A bar stood at one end, attended to by a rather full chested snow leopard and very cut orange tiger. Krystal found her eyes lingering on both of them, fortunately neither of her companions seemed to notice. Probably because both of them were finding themselves just as distracted. Occupying the center of the room a large black stage stood empty of performers, at least for the time being. Several smaller platforms were positioned strategically throughout the room, each of them connected to the ceiling by a shiny metal pole. Krystal immediately grasped the purpose of the poles, she remembered how her mother had explained pole dancing to her once, "Difficult to truly master but a great workout for the thighs." Smiling Krystal gave a mental intonation to the stars of the afterlife, her mother, High Priestess of the Dance, would have understood this place.

Krystal's nose began to twitch. She could pick out the scents of canines and felines, equines, lagomorphs, just about every variety of species she had encountered on Corneria. This world could be so much more diverse than her own, where only vulpines had lived. She also found herself picking up on the subtle tinges of arousal present, good, it would help hide her own sharper scent. "Should we find a place to sit down?"

Fay pointed towards an unoccupied booth near the back. "That looks like a good place, and the view should be good."

"Great." Miyu replied. "I'll go get us some drinks. Fay you're the designated driver."

"Why me?" Fay asked, looking upset.

"Because," Miyu explained, "You're a lightweight anyways. What do you want Krystal?"

"Oh just a martini if you don't mind." Katt had introduced Krystal to the pleasures that came along with a well prepared martini a few weeks ago, and Krystal had taken to it immediately.

"All right. Go get our seats and I'll be back with the drinks."

Miyu sauntered over to the bar to order the drinks while Fay and Krystal made their way over to the booth they wanted. Sliding onto the seat Krystal looked at Fay and asked, "I take it then you and Miyu have visited here before?"

Fay nodded, a smile on her muzzle. "Oh once or twice. We like to check up on Katt, and see her dance. Plus Miyu has managed to make a few...liaisons during her visits."

Krystal suppressed a smile. That helped to explain Miyu's blush when she admitted to knowing her way around the club. "I see." Krystal answered. A thought occurred to her then. "Forgive me if this is personal but...have you and Miyu ever?"

Fay's smile widened. "Oh sure. We've been on and off for a long time. Does it show?"

"A bit." Krystal admitted. "You two just seem very close, intimate even."

Fay wagged her tail. "Yep, that's us." The spaniel turned her gaze to Miyu as the lynx reappeared with the drinks. "What did you get?"

Miyu set a martini glass down in front of Krystal before saying, "Just a beer. I figured I'd nurse it for awhile while we're here."

Picking up her martini glass Krystal took a sip from it and smiled. Holding it out in front of her she regarded the drink with an appreciative eye. "Wow. This is good. Don't tell Katt but I think it's a little better than hers actually."

Miyu mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key before saying, "Zoya mixes a mean drink. Speaking of, drinks are on me."

"Thanks Miyu." Krystal said.

Fay pouted. "The one time she foots the bill and I'm left out."

Miyu elbowed the spaniel. "Why do you think I'm footing it?"

Further conversation was interrupted by the sound of cheering and applause from the crowd. All three girls shifted their gaze in the direction of the stage where Krystal caught sight of Katt, along with two very attractive vixens, strutting up to take their positions. Krystal couldn't help but smirk, Katt looked the very picture of a girl who loved the fact that all eyes in the room were on her. Seeing that the pink feline had spotted them in the crowd Fay, Miyu, and Krystal all waved to her. Then the lights dimmed and a trio of orange spotlights came on, focusing on each of the three girls.

Krystal leaned forward as the music started and the dance began, her eyes fixed on Katt for the most part. The pink furred cat had very little on, but what she did have on spoke volumes about the possible inspiration for the dance. Each of the girls were holding a gossamer shroud in both paws, using it either to subtly obscure the chest, or to leave it fluttering behind them as they moved with a precision Krystal would have found challenging to match. The only other article of clothing that the three girls wore were white and gold loin cloths that, upon examination, covered their loins and little else. Krystal quirked an eyebrow at the gold pattern, now where had she seen that before?

The dance, as it progressed, enraptured Krystal. She followed every movement of Katt's hips, every step of her feet, and she found it more and more difficult not to outright leer at the girl's chest which, true to the club's distinction as a topless bar, was proving to be the main attention getter of the dance for the majority of the room. Krystal could understand why Katt's nipples were pierced, it certainly added something to the view.

Then came a part of the dance where Krystal's eyes widened and she could feel herself blush, shifting forward in her seat. The two vixens paused in their own dancing to come alongside Katt, their hips met Katt's and, as they swayed in perfect synchrony, each of the vixens ran their paws up the pink feline's stomach, over her chest, and then out along her arms, the gossamer trailing along behind. Krystal's blush grew darker when she noticed that Katt's eyes were on her, watching her, and Krystal found herself staring back. Staring back as the feeling, no, the need, the desperate need to be with someone that had been building up the past few days went from a steady but controllable burn, to a raging inferno. She could feel the arousal between her legs, more than just the latent effect of being in a room full of people who were also aroused, this seemed the kind that would demand satisfaction one way or another. She could feel her mind fogging over, rational thought beginning to fade away only to be replaced by the most lustful of her needs, a need that started in her loins and traveled up through her body, making her heart beat so fast it felt about to burst even as her tail arched in an instinctive invitation. She inched forward, ready to head right up on stage and...

"Krystal? Krystal!"

Krystal jumped in her seat at the feeling of Fay's paw grabbing her shoulder. "What?"

"Are you all right? You're growling and uh...your scent is..." Fay actually looked a bit embarrassed.

Krystal's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the mention of her scent. Breathing in through her nose she blushed as she realized what was happening to her. "We need to go. Now."

Miyu looked over at her. "What? It's just starting to get good."

Fay, being at least a fellow canine, seemed to have a much firmer grasp of what was happening. "Miyu, sweetie, unless you want Krystal to jump up on that stage and give these people a very different show we need to get out of here right now."

Realization seemed to dawn on Miyu then and, hastily laying out half the bills in her wallet on the table, stood up with the other two girls and made for the exit.

Krystal followed closely, doing her best to resist the urge to look back, knowing that if she did getting out of here without making a complete fool of herself would be next to impossible. The three girls rushed down the stairs, out of the club, and into the cool night air. Krystal breathed in for what felt like the first time in awhile, doing her best not to pant. She felt much warmer than she should have on a night like this.

As they made their way to Miyu's car the lynx looked at her and said, "Bloody hell Krystal, why didn't you tell us you were in heat? We never would have gone."  
Krystal blushed, her ears tipping back. "I-I'm sorry. I had no idea it would flare up like it did just now, I'm usually more in control."

As they piled into the car, Fay taking the driver's seat, the spaniel asked, "When was the last time you were in heat, watching an erotic dance performed by Katt Monroe, in a room full of people all registering arousal..."

"All right all right I get the picture." Krystal snapped. Damn it. What had she been thinking really? A vixen's heat, especially a Cerinian vixen like herself, was never something to be taken lightly. "Good thing Fox wasn't there."

"Why?" Asked Miyu from the back seat. "Or don't I want to know?"

Krystal shook her head, doing her best not to pant, it really did feel unusually warm. "You don't, trust me. Unless you like the idea of both me and Fox McCloud doing...never mind you said you didn't want to know didn't you?"

Miyu and Fay shared a glance. "You've never been this bad Fay."

"It's vixens." Fay replied. "They're worse than a spaniel, trust me."

Miyu shook her head. "No, Krystal you don't look well. I've seen heats before, including vixen heats. This is different."

Krystal shook herself. No, she would not give in to this. She couldn't. The blood burn wouldn't last forever, it would calm down eventually. Wouldn't it? Truth be told she had only gotten this bad once before, during her first heat. Her mother had told it was a blood burn, a fever, something she would either have to fight through, or satisfy with someone. Her mother had stayed with her all night, keeping her cool, and keeping her sane with a mind link. But mother wasn't here now. Damn, why did she feel this way? She never felt this way, only that first heat, six years ago.

"Krystal? Krystal are you going to be OK?" Miyu shook the vixen.

Krystal looked at her. "I'll be fine." She said, her voice raised and throaty. She didn't sound like herself, that much she could tell from the look Miyu gave her.

"We're here." Fay said. "Do you want us to stay with you?"

Krystal got out of the car, breathing in the cool air, blessed cool air. A thought crossed her mind, Katt would be home tonight. A few more hours, but she would be home. Home with just the two of them. A smile formed on the vixen's muzzle, and a feeling of calm washed over her, the burning she felt willing to subside, so long as she did what she intended to. "No." She said, voice returning to a semblance of normalcy. "No, it's best if I'm alone. Thanks for getting me home."

Miyu and Fay shared another one of those worried glances, but neither protested. Fay knew from her own heats it was best to simply let the girl do what she wanted, and Miyu knew enough not to get between a vixen and whatever her rituals were during her season. "All right." Fay answered. "Call us though if you need anything."

Krystal waved as she made her way back into the building. "Thank you, I will. Goodnight." Taking the elevator up Krystal considered her options. She could either resist and go through two and days and two nights of Cerinian blood burn, or she could have Katt get her through this in a single night. _Katt, I hope I've read the signals right._

* * *

Katt sighed as she pressed the button for her floor. She shouldn't feel like this. Her performance had gone off without a hitch. Every step right, every movement. She'd also made a pretty penny in addition to the bonus her boss had given her for choreographing the dance. All in all Exotic night at the Wild Animal had been an even greater success than last time, thanks to her dance in particular. She still didn't feel good though, instead she felt worried. Krystal had left just a little bit before the halfway mark in her dance, and she hadn't looked well. She hoped the looks she had been casting the blue vixen hadn't made her friend uncomfortable. _Damn it Monroe, you came on too strong, stronger than fucking Fara! And that bitch throws herself at men when she wants them!_

The doors to the elevator opened and Katt stepped out, muttering a pointless apology for her thought to Fara. Maybe not so pointless, the fennec's ears were big enough she could probably hear it. Unlocking the door with her paw pad she stepped in, shut the door, and glanced around. Darkness. Krystal must be asleep already. No problem, Katt could see well enough in the dark.

Making sure to be as silent as possible the pink feline tip toed over to her room. The door was open, she must have forgotten to close it. Stepping in her nose twitched. "Wait a minute." She could smell Krystal, very strong, very potent, very...excited? "Krystal?" Katt flipped on the light switch to see the vixen lying nude on her bed, head propped on one paw, the other splayed over her hip. Katt felt the tips of her ears threaten to catch on fire, her tail fuzzing. "Krystal. What is going on?"

Krystal tossed her hair. "Nothing you didn't want."

Katt's ears were on fire, in no way was this the reception she had been expecting upon returning to the apartment. "Uh..."

Standing up the vixen waltzed over to her pink friend, and Katt couldn't help but appreciate the view of the vixen's body. Gorgeous didn't even begin to describe her. "Do you object?"

Katt's brain was trying desperately to make sense of this sudden change in behavior from the Cerinian. True Katt knew that the attraction she felt for the other girl was mutual, she had figured that out after about a month. But Krystal never seemed to really want to act on it, and Katt knew how Fox felt. But...if Krystal was making the decision...Smiling Katt pulled the vixen into a kiss. "Nope. I think I'd enjoy keeping company with someone exotic after Exotic night."

"A blue vixen from a faraway place seems like it would fit the bill." The vixen answered, tugging at Katt's clothes.

"Yeah. Yeah it would. Are you sure though?" Katt thought to add.

Krystal nodded. "If only for tonight, I _need _you."

Katt quirked an eyebrow at that, but decided she would ask about it in the morning. For now there were far more important, and far more pleasurable things to be done. Reaching back to kill the lights Katt let the other girl undress her even as they shared a kiss burning with repressed desire. Once all her clothes were off Katt pointed to the bed. "Lay down, I'm going to get us some light."

Krystal did as she was told, laying down on the edge of the bed and, feeling it appropriate, spreading her legs. Walking over to the window Katt threw open the blinds, letting in the view of Corneria City, the moon, and the meager stars visible in such a built up area. The room gained a softer illumination than the lights could provide, just enough that each of them could see the other clearly, but not enough that anything else in the room would serve to distract them.

Returning to Krystal the pink feline got down on her knees, and, her muzzle hovering a mere few inches from the other girl's womanhood, she looked up at Krystal, eyes asking for permission. The blue vixen nodded, already biting her lower lip in anticipation. Katt didn't wait any longer as she ran her tongue along Krystal's most delicate of areas. She smiled as the other girl moaned, she must already be doing something right. Katt paused. "More?"

"Yes. Please." Krystal answered, looking down at the pink cat.

Katt returned to her task, lapping at the other girl with her barbed tongue, tasting the blue vixen's essence. All the while Katt could feel her own arousal growing, the scent of Krystal's musk pervaded the entire room, blocking out everything, and battling with Katt's own sharpening scent. Krystal's moans became louder and longer, and she began to swear in her native language. Katt kept up with her tongue, pleasuring the vixen in every way she knew how, wanting to draw more of those ecstatic noises from the vixen's muzzle. Then, with one long scream Katt felt her lover explode onto her muzzle in a surprisingly drawn out, shuddering climax. When the vixen's convulsions ceased Katt lifted her muzzle from between Krystal's legs, licking her lips. "Damn girl. You really must have been..."

Katt didn't finish her sentence, Krystal, with surprising agility, lunged from her place on the bed and tackled the feline to the floor. Muzzle inches away from her friend's Krystal said, "Shut up. I need this, so don't make fun of me."

"I'm..." Katt realized then that actual conversation would probably prove impossible for the rest of the night when Krystal cut her off with a kiss. The vixen broke it only to trail a whole line of them down Katt's body before ending up between the feline's legs.

"Do you want me to?" Krystal asked, looking up at her pink friend. Katt nodded her ascent. "Good, I was going to anyway."

Katt tipped her head back in a gigantic purr at the feeling of Krystal's tongue on her nethers. Where had she learned to do that? "Hah. Oh. Jeez Krystal...where did you...Wow." Krystal seemed to be ignoring her, focused entirely on pleasing the pink girl of her desires. Katt decided not to interrupt, instead placing a paw on the back of Krystal's head, holding her right where she wanted her. Krystal took this as a sign to increase her efforts, and before long Katt felt herself brought to her own climax. Legs wrapping around Krystal's neck and toes curling as she screamed out Krystal's name.

As soon as she could escape Katt's legs Krystal looked up at her, grinning and licking her own lips she said, "And here I thought I was pent up."

Breath coming in pants Katt replied, "Falco...can't do that. But you...Are sure you've never done that before?" Katt looked down at the blue vixen, suspicion in her expression.

Tapping her temple with her middle finger Krystal answered, "Telepath remember? I know exactly what you want. And right now, you want more."

"Ah." Katt's suspicious expression disappeared in favor of a much more lustful one. "You're right. Think you can handle me?"

Krystal crawled over Katt until their muzzles were directly opposite each other. "Let's find out, shall we?"

* * *

Morning After/Epilogue

Krystal woke to the feeling of a pair of pink lips pressed against hers. Not bothering to open her eyes she wrapped her arms around her pink attacker, returning the kiss in full. Last night had certainly been a night to remember, in fact the sun had been just starting to come up by the time Krystal finally found herself sated. Not bad for her first time.

Katt pulled away and Krystal opened her eyes, smiling up at the pink cat on top of her. "Morning."

"Morning sweet pea. Sleep well?"

"Mmm. Very." Krystal felt herself yawn. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon." Katt answered, sliding back onto her side of the bed. "We were up all night."

Krystal stretched, letting her muscles begin the process of waking themselves up. "I'll say. You were spectacular."

"Says the girl with nothing to compare it to." Katt smiled though, still happy for the compliment.

"Well," Krystal turned over on her side to look at her friend. "Either way I think that was a first time worth remembering."

Katt chuckled. "I aim to please. But tell me something."

"Anything." Krystal replied.

"You were in heat last night, weren't you?" Katt asked. "And be honest."

Krystal's ears tipped back at the cat's earnest look. She really hadn't been herself last night, that much was certain. Most of what she had done wouldn't have happened, initially, if not for the effects of her heat, and the blood burn. "Yes, I was in heat."

"Ah." Katt nodded, looking down. "That explains last night then."

"Hey." Krystal reached out and brought Katt's chin back up. "I don't regret it. Not in the slightest. I've wanted that for awhile, and I appreciate what you did for me, knowingly or not."

Katt smiled at that. "Well, truth be told I've helped girls through their heats before. I just uh, well I didn't expect to be helping you."

"To be honest I didn't either, but life is full of surprises." Krystal answered. "And this was one of the best ones I've ever had."

"Same here." Katt looked thoughtful. "Are you going to tell Fox?"

Krystal hesitated. Fox. She hadn't even thought of him last night. Her feelings for him were still something she was trying to figure out. She certainly cared for him, and she certainly felt a desire for him similar to what she felt for Katt. But...Fox didn't seem interested in starting a romantic relationship with her at this point, and, frankly, Krystal wasn't certain she wanted that level of commitment just yet. Looking at Katt she said, "Let's just have this be our little secret. I'll tell him someday, but for now I think it best we keep this to ourselves."

Katt nodded in agreement. Then, looking hopeful, she asked, "Does that mean we can do this again some time?"

Krystal gave her friend a stern look. "Monroe, what kind of girl do you think I am?"

"Oh uh..." Katt blanched, worried she had crossed a line she hadn't seen.

Krystal giggled, she shouldn't tease the girl so. "It's all right Katt." Then more seriously, "So long as we can keep it to ourselves, I don't mind the idea. I do like you, and I've been alone for a long time, I like the idea of having a friend I can be close to and feel safe with like that."

Inching closer Katt said, "I can work with that. So, friends and lovers?"

Krystal nodded, a smile on her muzzle. "Friends...and lovers."

And then, paws clasping together, the two girls sealed their bond with a kiss. Closest of friends, best of lovers.

* * *

_Months later..._

"Krystal, I am happy to name you the fifth official member of Star Fox."

Krystal smiled as Fox pinned the Star Fox medal on her right shoulder. After almost a year of training she'd finally done it, she'd become a part of Star Fox. "Thank you Fox."

Stepping back and saluting Fox returned her smile. "You're welcome Krystal. I know you're going to be a great addition to the team."

Returning the salute Krystal said, "I'll make certain of it."

With that the small group of friends present for the ceremony broke into applause. Krystal, deciding to do something to make Fox blush, gave the vulpine a hug and a little peck on the cheek. True to form Fox became a blushing mess, though a bit less so than he would have when they first met.

"You two are cute you know that."

Krystal and Fox turned to see Katt standing there, all smiles. Fox, still blushing managed a simple, "Uhhh..."

"Oh Fox." Krystal shook her head. "Do you mind if I have a word alone with Katt?"

Looking between the two girls Fox shrugged. "Uh sure, go ahead." He seemed happy to have an avenue of escape after his bashful response to the blue vixen's affectionate action.

As soon as he was gone Katt sighed. "You sure you really want to do this?"

Taking Katt by the arm Krystal guided her away from the rest of the people present, she wanted their conversation private. "I am. I told you, this is what I want."

"I know. It's just..."

"I know." Krystal said. "You went down this path before, the mercenary path. It's not that I want to kill people, I want to protect people, and...I want to be with Fox."

Katt's expression lightened at that. "Oh I see. Krystal wants the D."

"Shut up." Krystal laughed good naturedly. "I'm serious though, he's finally beginning to come round. I've sorted out my feelings and...well I think I do love him."

Katt smiled at that. "Finally she realizes it. I'm glad. Do you know when your first mission will be?"

"Yeah. We ship out tomorrow morning. Freighter escort through Sector X. Fox says it should be a milk run." Krystal answered.

"Tomorrow though?" Katt quirked an eyebrow, tail swaying.

Krystal's tail wagged in response, a look in her eye that she reserved only for Katt. "Mmhmm. And I wouldn't dream of not giving you a proper goodbye. But..."

"I know." Katt replied. "If Fox is coming around, it'll probably be the last time between us."

Krystal took both of Katt's paws in hers. "Hey, you never know. Now come on, Fox bought cake. Let's enjoy my big day."

"Sure thing Krystal. Sure thing."

HERE ENDS PINK AND BLUE

* * *

A/N Again: So ends Pink and Blue. As far as my stories go I can't think of any that I've genuinely had more fun writing. I managed to finally work out for myself just why Katt and Krystal have, in my writing, always been the closest of friends, and I got to include Miyu, Fay, and Fara all at the same time. I also got to work with a new romantic pairing, Katt/Krystal. I know, half of you are cheering and half of you are having a rage induced heart attack right now. For the record this story developed exactly how I suspected it would, sorry if it's not your cup of tea though.

On the matter of Katt/Krystal, I may very well write more stories of romance and passion between the two, though perhaps in different contexts or settings, who knows? I just know that I like them as a couple. But then I like Panther and Krystal as a couple so...really no surprises there.

I want to thank everyone who has read this story, and I would also like to apologize for that months long hiatus I took. I literally spent almost the entire time stuck on chapter six, it really just didn't want to be written. I managed it though.

As for the future I do intend to keep writing Star Fox, and so long as I do I'll do my best to post things around here. We've got a new game coming to us in a year or two, so let's keep the spirit of Star Fox alive until then! I'm hoping to do something Fox and Krystal related for August, seeing as August is the month in which Krystal should be most appreciated. Until then though there really isn't all that much to say except thank you! once again for sticking with this story, it's been a pleasure!

-general whitefur


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